National Panel Launches to Address Gaps in Veterans Data

For Release

Tuesday
October 28, 2025

RAND and NORC at the University of Chicago, two of the nation's leading research organizations, launched today the Veterans Insight Panel (VIP), a national data resource to capture what most veteran research misses: the voices of U.S. veterans who aren't already connected to services from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Using scientific sampling and extensive participant-recruitment approaches, VIP is designed to gather fast, high-quality data on the experiences, opinions, and well-being of former service members across all eras and military branches. Veterans research often covers primarily VA-enrolled veterans, which is only about 50 percent of the veteran population. Additionally, many studies use samples that fail to reflect the rich diversity of the veteran population.

“If you're hearing from roughly half of the population and using limited data, you're in the position of making policy or programmatic decisions largely in the dark,” said David Dutwin, AmeriSpeak executive director and senior vice president at NORC. “This panel brings the full picture of the veteran community into view. When more veterans can share their experiences through rigorous, nonpartisan research, that can fuel real and impactful change.”

Government and other veteran-serving programs have frequently relied on limited data sets. Such research gaps can have major consequences, including ineffective programs, inadequate services, or missed opportunities to improve veterans' lives. VIP changes that in important ways:

It's nationally representative of service eras, branches, and demographics.
It was veteran-designed, with input from veteran advisers at every stage.
Its methodology is rigorous, with participant recruitment via mail, phone, and in-person outreach.
It will yield actionable results for government and relevant program leaders at all levels, businesses, the research community, and other stakeholders—in weeks, not years.

“This isn't an academic exercise. This is for decisionmakers who need evidence-based solutions now,” said Robert Bozick, a RAND senior demographer and director of RAND Survey Panels. “We've also built flexibility into the panel's design, allowing us to add questions to ongoing surveys for immediate insights.”

Among a wide range of U.S. stakeholders, there's a strong demand for high-quality data that can inform policy on veterans' health, employment, social connection, and post-service life. VIP will begin to release insights later this year and in early 2026. Together, RAND and NORC offer unmatched reach, credibility and scientific rigor.

“Veterans deserve to be seen, heard and understood,” Bozick said. “This panel puts more of their voices at the center of policy conversations.”