Improving Organizational Accountability

We foster organizational accountability at the VA by fulfilling certain statutory functions enumerated in 38 USC § 323 including:

  • Tracking and confirming recommendations made by our office
  • Tracking and confirming recommendations made by internal and external oversight entities so that deficiencies do not reoccur within VA
  • Advising and providing reports and recommendations to the Secretary on all matters related to accountability, including whistleblower protection and other matters the Secretary considers similar and affect public trust in the Department
  • Conducting data analytics and identifying trends so that VA can proactively address areas of potential concern

Track and confirm VA’s compliance with OAWP recommendations

When an OAWP investigation results in a recommendation, we track and confirm VA’s compliance with the recommendation. If the recommendation is for disciplinary action and VA does not take the recommended discipline within 60 days, VA, through OAWP, must notify Congress of the reason VA declined to accept the recommendation.

  1. Our recommendations are transmitted to the appropriate VA management official.
  2. Management official has 60 days to decide whether to take our recommendation.
  3. If our recommendation is taken, we track the outcome of the action.
  4. If our recommended disciplinary action is not taken, we collect the management official’s reasoning and prepare a report to Congress for the Secretary to sign.

Track and confirm VA’s compliance with oversight entity recommendations

Pursuant to 38 USC §§ 323(c)(1)(F), we record and track all recommendations from audits and investigations carried out by the VA Office of Inspector General (VA OIG), the Office of the Medical Inspector (OMI), the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). 

We also conduct non-investigative Program Reviews to confirm implementation of select priority recommendations made by these external oversight entities to ensure VA’s actions fully address the underlying root cause of any systemic issues, and to determine if implemented solutions are scalable to the rest of the applicable VA enterprise.

Advise the Secretary through non-investigative Program and Whistleblower Protection Reviews

We conduct Program Reviews to evaluate VA programs or operations for compliance, efficiency, effectiveness, and areas of improvement. We also conduct Whistleblower Protection Reviews for facilities and offices to promote a reporting culture of trust, transparency, and accountability across the VA. We produce reports and recommendations from these reviews to advise the Secretary on all matters related to accountability.

We analyze data and information from audits, hotline complaints, and investigations to identify trends so that VA can proactively address potential areas of concern.  Our trends analyses enable VA to make informed decisions,  improve operations, and foster positive whistleblower reporting cultures. A data-driven approach to informing decisions and policy reduces organizational risk and helps to promote a more accountable VA.