ProjectVirginia was founded in January 2009 by the CivicNEXT team to help first-time candidates for Virginia’s House of Delegates apply the social media lessons from the 2008 presidential campaign cycle in the context of limited-budget local campaigns.

ProjectVirginia won accolades from numerous candidates during the 2009 election and was recognized by Campaigns & Elections magazine for its innovative use of social media, winning the inaugural Reed Award for “Best Use of Twitter.”

Following the 2009 elections, ProjectVirginia focused on expanding the use of new media to improve the civic conversation, encourage engagement in the political process, and foster greater government accountability by tracking the evolving use of digital communication technology by activists, campaigns and advocacy groups using the social web for grassroots organizing, voter outreach and open government.