A-G Associates Celebrates the Success of First-Ever Company-Wide Datathon during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
Why a Datathon for Veteran Suicide Prevention
As a special way to recognize Suicide Prevention Awareness Month during September, A-G Associates launched its first Datathon Mission Lifeline on Sept. 30. This innovative initiative—spearheaded by A-G’s Data Science Community of Practice and Military, Veteran, and Family Center of Excellence (MVF CoE)—brought together data scientists, researchers, and subject-matter experts from across the organization. Building on their subject matter expertise in the areas of suicide prevention, mental health, substance use, military transition, and the social determinants of health, participants worked to generate data-driven insights and actionable solutions aimed at reducing suicide within the military, Veteran, and family (MVF) community.
“Our goal with data will always be to understand complex issues so that we can provide our clients with the best possible recommendations,” said Chris Gonzalez, President and Co-Founder of A-G Associates. “Internal events like this help us to practice those skills while looking at applications to our current work.”
The Datathon promoted collaborative learning and challenged participants to solve real-world problems using publicly available datasets. A-G’s researchers, analysts, program leads, project managers, and subject matter experts saw this challenge as an opportunity for professional development and skill-building, with the added element of friendly competition among three teams vying for prizes—and bragging rights.
“The time-limited format of a Datathon is specifically designed to encourage rapid experimentation and prototyping, allowing teams to quickly test and validate ideas while fostering a sense of ownership that promotes creativity and resourcefulness, and reducing the phenomenon of ‘paralysis by analysis’,” said Kayleigh Bealer, Associate Vice President of Research, Data, and Evaluation at A-G Associates.
Collaborative Learning, Real-World Impact
The presenting teams—The Overachievers, Team SLAPS, and Ideation Nation—worked diligently over four weeks to conduct their research and develop presentations to share their findings during a company-wide meeting. A panel of A-G’s subject matter experts judged the presentations for innovation, thoroughness, and depth, awarding prizes to the winning team for stretching their data skills.
“We challenged our participants to address real-world problems with data, and it is our hope that we will be able to carry one or more of these research efforts forward for additional development and even publication,” Bealer said.
Working collaboratively, each team developed a central research question related to suicide prevention within the MVF community and applied data science and research best practices to gather insights and draw conclusions to answer the question. Topics included the prevalence of different mental health diagnoses among subgroups of Veterans, the concept of “military identity” and its influence on a Veteran’s vulnerability to suicide, and the relationship between suicidal ideation and attempts across various regions of the U.S.
A-G's Data Community of Practice presenting their findings
The results were both insightful and thought-provoking, revealing several key patterns early on. Notably, the data indicated a need for further investigation into the disproportionately high rates of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorder diagnoses among African American Veterans. It also highlighted a “perfect storm” of risk factors that can intensify the identity challenges many Veterans face during the transition from active duty to civilian life. Furthermore, the analysis uncovered a stark disconnect: while many Veterans report frequent suicidal thoughts involving less lethal means, firearm-related suicide attempts—though less often documented—account for the overwhelming majority of deaths.
“A-G’s first-ever Datathon was a huge success. This effort inspired colleagues outside of the Research, Data, and Evaluation team about the power of data in shaping impact and allowed our data-minded people to collaborate with others across A-G,” Gonzalez said.
Each team adopted a mixed-methods approach, utilizing publicly available datasets that included federal, state, and open-source public health records to gather both quantitative and qualitative insights. Quantitative analyses ranged from statistical modeling, trend detection, and geospatial mapping to data visualization and correlation studies, while qualitative methods such as thematic coding, narrative synthesis, and policy review helped interpret human stories and systemic patterns behind the data. Using this information, the teams then applied advanced statistical tools, including co-occurrence matrices, heat maps, Chi-square tests, logistic regressions, odds ratios, and R² analyses.
Building a Data-Driven Culture at A-G
A-G Associates works daily to strengthen communities and break the cycle of Veteran suicide. Through partnerships with organizations like the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Defense (DoD), and through its Military, Veteran & Family Center of Excellence (MVF COE), A-G unites researchers, clinicians, strategists, program managers, and thought leaders to promote evidence-based practices such as lethal means safety, crisis care standards, peer-led support, and integrated approaches to substance use treatment and suicide prevention. Insights from the Datathon will directly support A-G’s frontline teams working in the front lines of suicide prevention with federal partners – transforming data into actionable strategies that improve program design, inform evidence-based decisions, and help us achieve lasting impact in the communities we serve.