From our first program offering, to the growth and scaling of our national programs, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) has endeavored to provide veterans and their families the best possible services. Yet, at least initially, we did not fully appreciate that the data we so carefully maintained was a strategic asset that could be utilized powerfully to advance our mission. Through our collaboration with SAS, we have since evolved our thinking to embrace the need for a data strategy and to align resources to manage our data as the asset we know it to be.
Our first step has been to invest in people with the technical skills and vision to make strategic decisions and implement a data management strategy. As we build out our enterprise data structure, processes, and governance, we will continue to develop and refine data visualizations and dashboards to deliver immediate value to our end users. In addition, to succeed in meeting the diverse and rapidly evolving needs of the IVMF, we aim to establish a cross-functional business intelligence team to lead the Institute in our journey to greater maturity in our use of data. With the building blocks firmly in place, and the leadership and resources to move forward, we are excited to undertake new challenges as we propel the IVMF on its path to organizational maturity.