The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opened the 2011 “Industry Innovation Competition” with up to $100 million in awards to identify, fund, and evaluate promising innovative technology proposals to improve the quality of healthcare for veterans.
The competition is part of the VA’s “Innovation Initiative” (VAi2), a department-wide program that solicits the most promising innovations from employees, the private sector, non-profits, academia, and entrepreneurs, to improve the quality of services delivered, enhance VA operations, and reduce or control the cost for delivering services.
The program is specifically looking for new ways to:
• Leverage telemedicine solutions to provide audiology services to veterans that live far from medical centers
• Create and implement enhancements or novel uses of VA’s “Blue Button” personal health record
• Design innovative prosthetic socket designs to improve the fit and comfort of prosthetics
• Fully automate sterilization of medical equipment
• Empower veterans with self-management technologies for vocational rehabilitation
This is the second Industry Competition launched by VAi2. Awards from the 2010 competition are announced on a rolling basis as contracts are finalized. For more information about VAi2, go to www.va.gov/vai2 and go to www.fbo.gov for more federal opportunities for businesses under the VAi2 program.
