The Veterans Administration recently announced the launch of a “beta” version of their Lighthouse Lab https://www.oit.va.gov/developer. The VA’s API Management platform, is a next generation digital solution offering software developers access to tools to create mobile and web applications to help veterans better manage their care, services, and benefits.
The VA is seeking a small initial user group to begin building the Lighthouse Lab developer community. Participants will help test APIs, build out documentation, develop governance standards, and test support workflows.
The Lighthouse program supports the VA’s move towards adopting Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products and innovative acquisition approaches, such as micro-purchasing agreements with a $3,500 threshold for technology solutions that can be rapidly deployed to veterans.
The VA is able to release micro-purchasing RFPs on the Lighthouse Github repository https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/Lighthouse. The VA is using micro-purchasing so the agency will be able to increase the number of contracts awarded to small businesses and also to diversify the development ecosystem at the VA. Later this spring, the VA will issue the next Lighthouse RFP.