Research in the veterans health administration: The report of the ResearchRealignment Advisory Committee

In 1995 the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affair s constituted the Research Realignment Advisory Committee and-charged it wi th reviewing the VA's research program. After meeting in 1995 and 1996, the committee identified 12 findings, which fall into four broad categories: a llocation,of research resources among VA research programs, acquisition and protection of resources, stability and maintenance of infrastructure, and outreach and communications. The most far-reaching recommendation was to establish designated research a reas so that VA research could be focused more sharply on the specific need s of veterans while maintaining a research base for relatively less common conditions and needs: integral to the VA's mission. The second major issue was that research funding should be increased (because it had-fallen in inf lation-adjusted dollars while the cost of doing research continued to rise) . The third major area dealt with operational issues about how research was administered in the newly created system of geographically defined "vetera ns integrated service networks" and at the medical centers and how research monies flowed to medical centers. The final major area had to do with care er development, for the committee considered the recruitment and retention of outstanding junior investigators to be a core function of VA research. The committee's recommendations, some of which have already been implemente d, form the basis for strengthening the VA's research enterprise and for fu lly integrating it within the new structure of health care delivery in the VA.