VETERANetwork
A research team at the Clearinghouse has developed a collaborative network that focuses on veteran research. This network is called the VETeran Evaluation and Research Applications Network (VETERANetwork), and it strives to ensure public and private donations are invested in effective programs and services that support veterans’ and their families’ well-being. The VETERANetwork acts as the applied research and evaluation unit for philanthropies, foundations, and other veteran-serving non-profit organizations, and it addresses questions and issues related to veterans’ transitions to civilian lives. The network is hosted by the Clearinghouse with the engagement of various partners (e.g., Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, the University of Southern California’s Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, the Carnegie Mellon CREATE Lab).
The VETERANetwork emerged from a joint research effort that was known as The Veterans Metrics Initiative: Linking Program Components to Post-Military Well-Being Study (TVMI). This collaborative study was launched in April 2015, and it examined veterans’ transition and reintegration experiences and assessed the impacts of transition programs that aid veterans as they move from military to civilian life. Led by the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., this project mobilized the scientific expertise of the Clearinghouse, other funders, and several Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers and collected six waves of data over 3 years from veterans who were discharged in 2016.
In 2020, the Clearinghouse expanded on TVMI with continued, independent data collection in a new research effort known as the Veterans Engaging in Transition Studies (VETS). This longitudinal study continues to examine veterans’ experiences as they transition from military to civilian life and explore the components across veteran transition programs that are linked to the following well-being domains: vocation, finances, mental and physical health, and social relationships. A Wave 7 survey (initiated 4 ½ years after separation) was funded by the Pew Student Loan Research Project and explored new lines of research, such as the impacts of COVID-19 and the scope and scale of veterans’ higher education debt obligations. In 2023, a Wave 8 survey (initiated 6 ½ years after separation) was conducted in partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project, The Heinz Endowments, May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust, and The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. This survey examined new topics including burn pits and other toxic exposure; perceptions of the U.S. military; perception of the VA; social media usage; and civic engagement