The Center for Policy Evaluation (CPE) will conduct rigorous evaluations supporting the implementation of evidence-based policies and programs in the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). We will work with operational partners to conduct evaluations, using both existing administrative data and prospective designs, to provide insights into causal mechanisms. CPE will be organized around 3 core aims (Methods Core, Learning and Translation Core, Operations Core). The Center’s goals are rooted in the belief that VA is a learning health care system. Creating a learning health care system requires objective assessments that provide insights into causal mechanisms and local context. Sometimes operational leaders want answers to questions for which neither a randomized control trial nor a natural experiment can be found. These situations require innovative thinking about study design and expert judgment about the pros and cons of alternative methods. CPE investigators have significant experience in these skills; we have a history of being highly collaborative and innovative in combining qualitative and quantitative methods across a wide range of VA priority areas. CPE represents 30 investigators with expertise in community care, access, virtual care, long term, home-based and palliative care, disparities and social determinants of health (SDoH), delayed care from COVID, suicide and mental health, women's health, employment and health, burnout and staffing, exposures during deployment and spinal cord injuries, homelessness, EHR modernization, primary care, and complex patients. In year 1, we have proposed two evaluations and building a core data resource. The first evaluation examines the link between VBA disability benefits and mental health. This project will provide VA with evidence to guide VBA and VHA policy when it comes to benefits and mental health. This project will be led by Dr. Kritee Gujral with assistance from Drs. Liam Rose and Todd Wagner. The operational partners include OMHSP, ORH and OEI. The second evaluation examines Health Connect, a modernization of the Clinical Contact Centers, to streamline access to care and maximize first- contact resolution. This evaluation will assess the effectiveness of the Health Connect program in improving Veteran access to timely, quality care compared to care as usual prior to implementation. This project will help VA improve access and encourage greater reliance on VA for services. Drs. Diem Tran, Liam Rose, Jaqueline Ferguson, and Anita Vashi will lead this project from CPE. The primary partner is IVC and a secondary partner is the OCC. In year one we will also create core data resources to improve the quality and speed of subsequent evaluations. CPE has a long history of working with VA operational partners including the Office of Integrated Veterans Care, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Office of Connected Care, and Office of Primary Care, just to name a few. CPE will be led by Todd...