For Release
TuesdayOctober 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.”
