ABSTRACT
Congress and an array of federal departments and agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), face a very large and complex organizational and management challenge in improving care and benefits for veterans, including those now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. To accomplish its mission and goals in an era of change, the VA and its partners must pursue a broader systematic organizational strategy of continuous improvement. This strategy will involve a series of successive and coordinated evidence-driven alterations to the administration of service and benefits for veterans. For the change to be sustained and successful, it must be supported at the top and managed centrally, with clear accountability by all for specific results under their control and a continuous focus on how their work contributes to better outcomes for veterans.
