Case Study - Change Readiness and Management - Creative Design - Findings Analysis and Insights - Program and Project Management - Program Evaluation and Measurement - Research Design and Execution - Stakeholder Engagement - Veteran Health

Advancing a Presidential Initiative to Prevent Veteran Suicide

Posted on 03.31.25

Supporting implementation of a federal suicide prevention directive

Presidential Executive Order 13861, the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS), called for a coordinated national response to improve Veteran quality of life and reduce suicide. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) required mission-critical operational support to fulfill the executive order’s requirements, including implementation planning, interagency coordination and evaluation activities.

The Aptive Advantage

Agility in adapting to evolving federal priorities
Proven success in operational leadership streamlining
In-depth knowledge of VA mission operations

Results at a Glance

Supported successful implementation of federal suicide prevention directives
Built partnerships to enable targeted Veteran service coordination
Expanded operational support to additional suicide prevention initiatives

PTSD Mental health concept, Psychologist sitting and touch hand

Challenge

Translating broad federal actions into measurable results

The PREVENTS Roadmap mandated collaboration across federal, state, tribal and local governments, as well as non-governmental partners. VA was tasked with leading this effort to improve service access, enhance public awareness and strengthen coordination to support at-risk Veterans. Implementing 46 distinct agency actions required dedicated resources to convert strategy into operational outcomes.

Solutions

VA partnered with Aptive HTG, which provided operational performance consulting and implementation planning support rooted in prior experience with federal suicide prevention initiatives. Aptive developed actionable roadmaps to advance the full range of PREVENTS agency actions.

Mission-Aligned Coordination

PREVENTS emphasized targeted service access improvement and mission-driven partnerships. Aptive helped plan and execute site visits, town halls, roundtables and other localized events to build coalitions and share operational insights. These engagements helped create a national network of allies committed to Veteran suicide prevention.

Implementation Planning and Support

After assessing gaps in mental health access and identifying high-impact solutions, Aptive developed tools and templates to support roadmap execution, including:

Implementation plans with performance metrics
Project timelines
Leadership briefings and progress updates
Evaluation guidance
Materials for planning and reporting coordination events

Performance Tracking Tools

To monitor implementation, Aptive created a centralized tracking system with real-time dashboards that visualized progress and key milestones. This tool enabled VA to oversee agency action execution, identify delays and track overall performance across workstreams.

Beautiful african american girl during meeting with professional

Results

Extending operational support to broader Veteran suicide prevention efforts

Following successful PREVENTS implementation, Aptive expanded its support to additional suicide prevention programs across VA. The team adapted quickly to evolving requirements, integrated emerging priorities and maintained on-time delivery of critical outputs.

Early in the engagement, Aptive helped VA establish partnerships with governmental and community-based organizations to share best practices and explore tactics for improving access to prevention resources. Building on that momentum, VA continued executing roadmap actions using Aptive-developed tools and methods.

As PREVENTS evolved, Aptive provided critical operational support including developing internal messaging, tracking agency progress and advising on tactics to maintain alignment and impact.