Report from The Jefferson Innovation Summit: Accelerating Innovation in the Commonwealth
- Tom Tom Foundation Staff
- Oct 31, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 21
April 2025 | Part of Tom Tom’s Economic Vitality Summits
“The continued growth of Virginia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem depends not only on supporting activities within these hubs but also on our collective ability to spread investment and innovation to all regions in the Commonwealth.”
— Jefferson Innovation Summit Playbook, 2025
During the 13th Annual Tom Tom Festival (April 16–20, 2025), leaders from across Virginia gathered in Charlottesville for the Jefferson Innovation Summit, a daylong convening focused on accelerating innovation and entrepreneurship across the Commonwealth. Hosted in partnership with the Darden School of Business and the University of Virginia’s Batten Institute, the Summit brought together policymakers, business executives, educators, investors, and entrepreneurs to collaborate on a shared vision for regional growth.
Participants met in the Bradbury for morning strategy sessions and continued conversations over lunch and afternoon working groups in the Virginia Vault. The day concluded with a networking reception and an invitation to join the Tom Tom Block Party on the Downtown Mall—connecting the Summit’s deliberations with the broader energy of community celebration.
The Playbook for Action
The Jefferson Innovation Summit Playbook, released following the event, captures the central question posed to delegates: How can Virginia strengthen its innovation ecosystem to drive sustainable, inclusive economic growth? The Playbook highlights the Commonwealth’s unique assets—world-class universities, emerging technology sectors, and vibrant communities—and identifies the critical steps needed to turn these into a cohesive statewide innovation strategy.
Key recommendations include:
Building a Connected Innovation Network – Strengthen collaboration among universities, accelerators, and industry partners to create a coordinated ecosystem.
Investing in Talent and Capital – Expand access to venture funding, workforce development programs, and pathways for underrepresented founders.
Driving Regional Innovation Hubs – Support locally driven innovation zones that leverage the strengths of communities like Charlottesville, Richmond, and Hampton Roads.
Embedding Innovation in Policy – Encourage public-private partnerships and policy frameworks that incentivize experimentation and scale success.
“Our hope is that leaders in both the public and private spheres will be inspired to take on these new ideas and work in partnership with universities to mobilize the investment and workforce needed for deployment.”
— Jefferson Innovation Summit Playbook, 2025
What’s Next
The Jefferson Innovation Summit complements Tom Tom’s broader Economic Vitality programming, including Blueprint Charlottesville, Venture Central, and partnerships with UVA Innovates. Together, these efforts are building the foundation for a regional model of collaboration—one where creativity, entrepreneurship, and civic leadership combine to shape Virginia’s economic future.
As the community looks ahead to the COURAGE 2026 Festival and America’s 250th anniversary, the lessons from the Jefferson Innovation Summit serve as a call to action: to invest boldly, connect deeply, and ensure that innovation in the Commonwealth benefits all Virginians.
On April 18, 2025 more than 20 delegates convened at the Tom Tom Festival for the Jefferson Innovation Summit to discuss the ways in which universities can help to commercialize and scale new technologies and grow entrepreneurship within the Commonwealth. The delegates included representatives from a broad swath of stakeholders including entrepreneurs, prominent venture investors, our VA public universities, the Governor’s office and executive branch, elected officials, academics, and non-profits.
Through a facilitated dialogue and workshop, the delegates worked together to generate a small set of recommendations relating to policy proposals and broad recommendations activating both the private and public sectors.
These insights will be used to develop a playbook to inspire and inform policy action under the guiding belief that Universities have a critical role to play in helping to catalyze innovations to drive economic growth, create the jobs of the future, and advance the state’s ambitions to be a technological leader.
