1. Introduction to
the VA Center for
Innovation (VACI)
Blake Henderson
Innovation Coordinator
Grassroots Innovations
ILNdc
May 2013

2. Guiding Philosophy
 Small, targeted investments
 Discovery-driven process
 Not pass or fail
 Startup in a big system
 Healthy competition
 Not the only show in town
ILNdc – May 2013

3. Strategic vs. Grassroots
 Strategic
 Top down
 Industry
Competition
 e.g. Blue Button
Competition
 $500k - $5M
 Grassroots
 Flat framework
 Yearly idea
competition
 Community input
and voting
 4th Round - $0-$750k
ILNdc – May 2013
 Entrepreneurs in Residence
 Innovation Fellows

4. VA Innovation Life
Cycle
 Idea
 Prototype
 Implementation
 Class III – local / facility
 Class II - regional
 Class I - national
ILNdc – May 2013

5. Scope of a Project
 Scope must be defined by the team
before undertaking the project
Not a one size fits all process
Innovation Idea Prototype III II I
(209)Advance
d
Decision
Support
(66) CRATS
Kiosk
(572) – InfoPath
Hand Hygiene
Tool
(276)Core
Collection of
Knowledge

6. Challenges
 Diffusion of Innovation
 Example: Class I Enhancements to VISTA
 Test Environment for MyHealtheVet
 High-Quality Health Data Sets for Testing
Questions?
ILNdc – May 2013