The Opportunity Move strategy leverages the growing urgency within the federal government to relocate its operations out of the greater Washington, D.C. region due to national security and federal deficit concerns.  The density of federal operations in this region has created a “target rich environment” for enemies of the United States. This is unacceptable from an operational security perspective and must be addressed promptly.  In addition, the cost of operations in this region are astronomical.  This is unsustainable and the worst way to spend taxpayer money. The pandemic has added an even greater emphasis to the urgent need to reduce the density.   

While there is no formal government program to relocate agencies, there have been opportunistic relocations over the years that have both set a precedent and offered lessons learned.  One of the lessons learned is that relocations “too far away” from the greater Washington, D.C. region introduce significant staff retention problems and communication complexities.  The employees at federal operations understand the need to be “far enough away” from the region to avoid the concerns; however, they do not want to be “too far away.”  This is at the heart of the opportunity for West Virginia.  The state’s geographical location represents a “sweet spot” for relocations because it is indeed “far enough away” but not “too far away.”  In addition, the state’s transportation system, including interstate access and air transportation provides an unrivaled resource for interaction with the Washington, D.C. region post relocation. 

Federal relocations to north central West Virginia over the last 30 years have demonstrated that the contracting opportunities provided by those federal operations created a regional business case that has attracted several companies to the region resulting in a stronger economy.  The companies came to the region because they want to be positioned to compete for the contracts.  In other words, the contracting from federal operations created an opportunity for these companies to make money – the most fundamental economic development driver.  The ecosystem created by the federal operations and the companies clustering around them creates a fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurism.  The Opportunity Move project aims to expand this strategy and ecosystem to other locations in West Virginia by recruiting additional federal operations to sites identified by the Steering Committee, driving economic development and diversification statewide.