US Veterans Affairs Seeks Industry Assistance to Initiate AI Program

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking industry assistance to initiate an AI program and establish governance support, as indicated by a request for information (RFI) posted by the VA Office of the Chief AI Officer (OCAIO).

The VA is seeking industry feedback on a draft performance work statement by October 10, which will help finalize a task order for an AI program and governance support.

“The complexity of this effort stems from the need to manage, operationalize, and implement a governance process that not only assesses safety impacting and rights impacting issues in AI use cases but also offers actionable remediation strategies when appropriate. The work example(s) provided in the submission should demonstrate the following: Ability to manage and implement a framework for AI governance that meets all the federal requirements for reporting and monitoring and contains both quantitative and qualitative measures for impact,” the RFI states.

In the document, the VA further notes that it is seeking five full-time contractors– an AI policy expert, a project manager, two senior technical policy analysts, and a senior communications specialist.

The roles will be for an initial six-month period with two optional 12-month extensions.

Earlier this year, the IT department of the VA revealed that the department was looking to recruit AI experts to assist in enhancing the agency's digital healthcare tools. 

Kurt DelBene, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the VA, told reporters that his office is making a “modest request” to hire more AI specialists in response to not only President Biden’s recent AI executive order but also to meet the increase of benefits applications under the PACT Act (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022).