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Office of Resolution Management, Diversity & Inclusion (ORMDI)
I*DEA
VA is in the midst of a cultural transformation—a transformation to ensure everyone who enters our facilities and interacts with our people feels safe, welcome, and valued.
We are promoting inclusion, increasing diversity, fostering equity, and improving access and outcomes for Veterans and VA employees. Together, we are building a brighter future for all.
Four Pillars
Promoting Inclusion
Ensuring everyone who interacts with VA feels safe and welcome. Treating individuals with dignity, integrity, and respect. Providing an environment free of harassment, discrimination, prejudice, and bias so every VA employee, Veteran, their family, caregiver, and survivor is recognized, included, and valued.
Increasing Diversity
Recognizing and embracing the strengths of our diverse Veterans and employees. Engaging and supporting underserved communities including women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+).
Fostering Equity
Identifying and mitigating barriers to access and opportunity. Providing every individual with the support they need to access health care and benefits and achieve success. Alleviating systemic inequities and institutional obstacles to improve outcomes for Veterans and employees.
Improving Access
Ensuring availability and access of services, support, and opportunity for all Veterans and employees. Developing institutional pathways and accommodations to promote access and improved outcomes for underserved and historically marginalized communities.
Sparking I*DEA
In 2021, with the release of Executive Orders 13985, 14035, and other related Orders, the Department of Veterans Affairs seized a unique and meaningful opportunity: To identify and eliminate institutional barriers to equity at VA and build agency-wide practices to ensure inclusion, diversity, equity, and access to underserved and otherwise marginalized Veteran and employee communities. To demonstrate commitment to this goal and improve the cultural health of VA by weaving these principles into the very fabric of the Department, VA launched an enterprise-wide initiative: I*DEA.
In 2021, VA Secretary McDonough launched the I*DEA Task Force—an interdisciplinary team of 30+ subject-matter experts from across VA to evaluate existing policies, programs, and organizational structures enterprise wide.
The I*DEA Task Force kicked off with a 120-day sprint to evaluate existing policies, programs, and organizational structures across the VA enterprise and develop action plan recommendations.
The Task Force established four guiding principles to create an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible environment for all and ensure sustainable organizational and cultural change:
Be proactive by deliberately and consciously embedding I*DEA into the institutional memory and organizational culture (I-CARE + I*DEA).
Share the burden of inequity with underserved communities: employees, Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.
Be accountable by accepting the responsibility to improve the services we offer and embody excellence.
Cultivate jointness across VA to create a holistic and integrated VA mission and strategy for I*DEA.
In July, the Task Force delivered an Action Plan with 20 key recommendations and 68 sub-recommendations for enhancing inclusion, diversity, equity, and access at VA. With their work complete, the Task Force adjourned and turned their findings over to the newly chartered I*DEA Sub-Council.
In July 2021, the I*DEA Task force transitioned the ownership of the I*DEA Action Plan to the then newly formed I*DEA Sub-Council.
The I*DEA Sub-Council sits within VA’s governance structure and is the primary oversight body to the Office of the Secretary (OSVA) for enterprise-wide decisions regarding inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. The Sub-Council is responsible for ensuring policy decisions are consistent with VA’s strategic goals and effectively improve the lives and experiences of VA employees, Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.
As one of its first tasks, the I*DEA Sub-Council conducted a feasibility assessment of Action Plan recommendations and charted a course for implementation. The Sub-Council achieved a number of initial wins including:
Established the I*DEA Sub-Council as a permanent component of its governance structure to provide strategic direction to and promote continuity in VA’s I*DEA initiative (Recommendation #19).
Approved the establishment and selection of a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) position, by the Office of the Secretary (OSVA) (Recommendation #11).
Completed in FY 2022, a Workforce Barrier Analysis for SES, Hispanic employees. In FY 2023, VA will conduct a barrier analysis with employees with disabilities.
Developed a comprehensive I*DEA Communications Strategy including a well-researched story, messaging guidelines, and branding including an I*DEA-centric informational PowerPoint and template, flyers, and virtual backgrounds.
Developed a Playbook for the Secretary I*DEA Stand Down enterprise-wide to address relevant I*DEA topics for VA workforce (Recommendation #4).
Engaged with VA employees to identify pain points, needs, and opportunities for VA to address impediments to belonging in a project called Identity Insights.
Through these initial efforts and ongoing Action Plan activities, VA is reducing internal and external barriers that have impeded access to benefits, services, healthcare, and opportunity for employees and Veterans.
Through the I*DEA Sub-Council and with the help of all VA employees, VA is advancing an inclusive environment that values and supports the diverse communities we serve and cultivates equitable access to care, benefits, services, and opportunity for all.
In June 2023, VA announced the establishment of the Agency Equity Team, also known as the I*DEA Council, to ensure VA delivers on its promise to provide world-class care and benefits to all who do business with VA.
Bringing I*DEA to Life
The I*DEA brand mark—a stylized asterisk—is a foundational component of the brand. It represents a promise to Veterans, VA employees, and the American public.
Why an asterisk? In writing, an asterisk is used to mark text—typically as a reference to an annotation or to stand for censored or omitted content. When used as the brand mark and included in the I*DEA logo, what traditionally represents an afterthought becomes embedded in and central to the message. The I*DEA asterisk represents historically underserved and marginalized communities. It represents the celebration of differences and signifies conscious inclusion.
The I*DEA brand mark is a stylized asterisk, with several visual elements that emphasize the initiative’s values.
A Asterisk In writing, an asterisk is used to mark text—typically as a reference to an annotation or to stand for censored or omitted content. When used as the brand mark and included in the I*DEA logo, what traditionally represents an afterthought becomes embedded in and central to the message. Here, the asterisk represents historically underserved and marginalized communities. It represents the celebration of difference and signifies conscious inclusion. In math, an asterisk indicates multiplication; I*DEA is amplifying opportunity and success for Veterans and VA employees.
B VA The abstract Vs and As that comprise the asterisk are a subtle nod to VA in a way that does not distract from the focus on I*DEA.
C Arrow The arrow pointing to the right represents movement, action, and forward progress.
D One The number one represents unity and “e pluribus unum,” or “Out of many, one.”
E Kaleidoscope The faceted center of the asterisk evokes a kaleidoscope—the multicolored, vibrant, ever-shifting, fluid spectrum of human diversity.
F Awareness Ribbon The I*DEA awareness ribbon raises awareness and shows support for inclusion, diversity, equity, and access at VA.
The I*DEA brand guide is a 60-page interactive PDF that fulfills its most basic function—brand guidance—while showcasing the compelling story of the initiative and the brand. It symbolizes the vision, commitment, and determination of ORMDI leadership to make I*DEA a reality at VA. The brand guide includes guidance for the I*DEA logo and brand mark, color palette, typography, graphics, and imagery. View the I*DEA Brand Guide
