End-to-end science from major facilities: does the VO have a role?

The Virtual Observatory provides a natural solution to the existence problem in communications: how can one ask a question of another unless you know the other exists? Many think e-mail from apparent strangers, e-blogs, etc., suggest there is no shortage of possible such solutions. In that context, is the Virtual Observatory in fact the necessary and desirable part of the solution? Specifically, does the VO necessarily play a critical role in delivering end-to-end facility science, from ideas, through proposals, resources/facilities, to distributed, reviewed, knowledge? If not, what else needs to be added?