IAVA Leads Panel on the Future of Data and Direct Services for Veterans
Leading post-9/11 vets group begins panel series to launch annual veterans survey
BOSTON (April 21, 2016) – Today, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) will be joined Massachusetts’ Department of Veterans’ Services, Northeastern University and RAND Corporation for the first of six events in IAVA’s “On the Ground” series on using data to drive decisions. Today’s “On the Ground: Data and Direct Services” panel will examine data collected from IAVA’s veteran members, and discuss the impact data has on providing direct services to Boston-area veterans. Each “On the Ground” discussion will focus on IAVA’s policy priorities and the corresponding results from IAVA’s 7th Annual Member Survey, to be released Thurs., April 28.
“The data gleaned from IAVA’s Annual Member Survey is the foundation for everything we do,” said Jackie Maffucci, Ph.D., IAVA Research Director. “As individual needs arise for this growing community, all stakeholders must have the best information available to understand the population they are serving. From the Department of Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs, we must push for improved data collection and analysis in order to meet the needs of the individual service member or veteran.”
The “On the Ground: Data and Direct Services” panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Jackie Maffucci and feature: Andy McCarty, Director of Northeastern University’s Center for the Advancement of Veterans and Servicemembers; Laura Piscopo, Project Manager at Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services; and Charles Engel, Senior Researcher at RAND Corporation.
IAVA members are encouraged to RSVP here. The panel discussion will be held at North Bennet Street School at 6:00 p.m. Check in will begin at 5:30 p.m.
IAVA’s member survey is one of the largest and most comprehensive non-governmental surveys of post-9/11 veterans providing insight into a number of critical issues, including suicide, health care, burn pit and toxic exposure, VA benefits, political engagement, reintegration challenges, employment and more.
