VA calls for help bringing home appeals modernization project
The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking additional contractor support as it continues to develop Caseflow, a suite of modern appeals processing tools.
The VA appeals modernization project, aimed at streamlining a complicated and difficult system, began back in 2014. In 2015, the VA Digital Service (DSVA) team started looking into retiring the legacy Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System (VACOLS, developed in 1979) in favor of a new suite of digital solutions called Caseflow. This work has been ongoing — for example, DSVA and the VA launched Caseflow’s first tool, Caseflow Certification, in April 2016.
It is now time, however, for development and implementation to kick into high gear. According to the VA, no Caseflow products are “fully finished” at the moment, but all need to be in a state of minimum viability by the time the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 goes into effect Feb. 14, 2019. Per the Caseflow GitHub page, there are four products currently in a “mature state” and four others “in heavy development.”
This is where the VA’s call for help comes in.
The agency recently posted a request for information on FedBizOpps, seeking contractor help with project management, training, help desk support and more. The project has a 12 month period of performance, with three additional 12 month option periods.
Caseflow, as is typical of U.S. Digital Service projects, is being developed according to user-centered and agile methodology, so the VA is looking for a contractor that will stick with these same working principles. In response to the RFI, potential vendors are asked to submit a case study that demonstrates that vendor’s ability to fulfill the VA’s needs.
Interested entities have until Jan. 14 to respond to the RFI.
