GO Virginia is an economic development initiative that encourages collaboration between local governments, higher education, private industry and workforce
This page provides resources for the regional councils and their support organizations for the implementation of the GO Virginia program and related initiatives.
Coming soon! View funded projects and economic activity in GO Virginia regions.
GO Virginia State Board
The Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the GO Virginia program, including receiving and assessing applications for funding submitted by the nine regional councils. The board consists of legislators, members of the governor’s cabinet, and private sector representatives.
In 2016, the board certified nine distinct GO Virginia regions across the commonwealth. These regions consist of nine to 18 localities that share similar economic development and workforce needs.
Region One includes the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe, and the cities of Bristol, Galax and Norton. The Appalachian Mountains run through many of the 13 counties and three cities that comprise the region.
Region Two includes the counties of Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski, and Roanoke, and the cities of Covington, Lynchburg, Radford, Roanoke and Salem.
Region Three includes the counties of Amelia, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Patrick, Pittsylvania, and Prince Edward, and the cities of Danville and Martinsville.
Region Four includes the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George, Surry, and Sussex, and the cities of Colonial Heights, Emporia, Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond.
Region Five includes the counties of Accomack, Isle of Wright, James City, Northampton, Southampton, and York, and the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg.
Region Six, also known as the Mary Ball Washington Region, includes the counties of Caroline, Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland, and the city of Fredericksburg.
Region Seven includes the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William, and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.
Region Eight includes the counties of Augusta, Bath, Clarke, Frederick, Highland, Page, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren, and the cities of Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton, Waynesboro and Winchester.
Region Nine includes the counties of Albemarle, Culpeper, Fauquier, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, and Rappahannock, and the city of Charlottesville.
GO Virginia works with partners at the state, regional and local levels to advance opportunities for growth in every region of the commonwealth.
The Virginia Growth and Opportunity Foundation is a private, 501(c)(3) organization that provides support to the state board and the nine regional councils by helping to collect and disseminate best practices relating to regional economic and workforce development, and to build expertise and working groups around priority initiatives as identified by the board.
The Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (Virginia TOP) connects Virginia businesses that have work-based learning opportunities to Virginia students looking for them, with Virginia’s higher ed institutions serving as the main catalyst.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) encourages, stimulates and supports development and expansion of the commonwealth’s economy.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership creates and maintains a number of diverse resource tools which provide up-to-date information needed to make an informed site location decision.
VCCS helps to transform the higher education landscape for Virginians.
Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) creates technology-based economic development strategies to accelerate innovation, imagination and the next generation of technology and technology companies.
