Although George Mason University and its president were responsible for forming the Northern Virginia Roundtable, it was clear in the first few months of existence that the group would become more than just a support network for the university. The executives involved and the business community at large were hungry for leadership from their own ranks. The Northern Virginia Roundtable was formed by a group of area business leaders in 1993 to identify and support public policies and investments that would enhance the long-term economic stability and growth of Northern Virginia. Roundtable membership averages 80 members a year, made up of CEO’s and other top executives of many of Northern Virginia’s largest companies.

The group that formed the Roundtable also realized early on that "economic development" in a new knowledge-based economy required a different approach, and that the regional economy was unique and required unique solutions. As a result, the first year-and-a-half was dedicated to studying the regional economy – to better understand the companies and activities within the circle of concern before proposing an agenda for success.

Several Roundtable committees were formed in 1994, which developed reports that were released in1995 at the second annual Conference on the Future of the Northern Virginia Economy. Following the completion of the reports, an ad-hoc committee of the Roundtable worked with the leadership of the northern Virginia General Assembly delegation to propose a long-term legislative platform to reserve its economic reserve, resulting in the Commonwealth First Policy Partnership. In July 1995, the delegation and the Roundtable set out to seek bi-partisan support for its platform.

Since 1997, the Roundtable has focused on four priorities: the state of the Commonwealth’s finances, transportation, education, and tax restructuring.

In 1997, the Roundtable called upon the General Assembly to establish a long-range planning and budgeting mechanism in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with six year budget projections adopted as part of each biennial budget;

The most comprehensive Roundtable platform was adopted in 1999: Community Priorities 2000, which was a plan to improve the quality of life for Northern Virginia’s residents. Community Priorities 2000 addressed three areas:

1. Fixing the transportation system;

2 Rebuilding the tax system from top to bottom; and

3. Providing adequate resources to education, K-University.

The Roundtable continued to focus on these priorities and adopted four more priorities for the 2001 General Assembly session:

1. Securing legislation to allow a vote on a referendum to raise sales taxes by 1 percent for transportation and education infrastructure needs;

2. Securing legislation to authorize creation of a regional transportation authority for Northern Virginia with authority to bond and reinvent VDOT;

3. Supporting legislation to authorize the issuance of Commonwealth of Virginia Higher Education and Related Educational Facilities Bond in the amount of $900,000,000 subject to the approval of the voters on November 5, 2002; and

4. Restoring budget reductions for Higher Education at George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College.

In March 2002, the Roundtable made one of its boldest statements and called for the following:

The Roundtable’s leadership has resulted in the formation of organizations, several major events and legislation – all benefiting Northern Virginia. Among the accomplishments are the following:

• The formation of the Potomac Knowledgeway, which is a not-for-profit leadership organization that acts as a catalyst, thought leader, and idea incubator to help the Greater Washington region to be a global leader in advanced telecommunications, content, Internet-related industries, and new opportunities.
• Three Northern Virginia Dinners and Videos
• Conducting the Technology Investor Conference
• The Virginia Technology Summits
• The creation of the Northern Virginia Regional Partnership.

Business executives, who are concerned with the quality of life for their employees, are actively involved in the Roundtable for several reasons:

The Roundtable has 93 dues paying members, representing IT, finance and banking, real estate, law, education, and other business interests. Membership dues are $2000 a year, which funds Roundtable meetings, lobbying efforts in Richmond and administrative, logistical and administrative support. The Roundtable Membership Committee is undertaking an effort to increase membership to represent more businesses and a broader geographic area.

Northern Virginia Roundtable Programs