West Virginia Works (WVW) is a collaborative effort between the Institute for Justice’s Cities Work initiative and a coalition of five cities from across West Virginia to identify and rectify regulatory barriers to make it cheaper, faster, and simpler to start a business through regulatory reform.
This collaborative effort brings together city leaders from Wheeling, Parkersburg, Morgantown, Huntington, and Charleston to work through municipal and state-level barriers to starting a business. These five cities are working as part of a 8-month cohort — from January to August 2026 — to engage entrepreneurs, work across departments, and streamline burdensome regulatory processes to enable entrepreneurship in their communities.
WVW is produced in partnership with the Office of the West Virginia Secretary of State, West Virginia Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, and Cities Work at the Institute for Justice.
Who we are
Everyone has the right to earn an honest living, and city officials want to ensure their constituents can do exactly that: pursue their small business dreams while contributing to the local economy. But due to regulatory roadblocks, high fees, and time-consuming permitting and licensing processes, many entrepreneurs struggle to make their dreams a reality.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Cities Work is a nonprofit, nonpartisan initiative that works with cities to make it cheaper, faster, and simpler to start a small business—all free of charge.
The West Virginia Entrepreneurship Ecosystem connects and identifies opportunities to help entrepreneurs and small business owners across the state by fostering collaboration and sharing resources. The ecosystem is open to any and all organizations in West Virginia interested in entrepreneurial development to share best practices and inspire collaborations.
The West Virginia Works Cohort
Click on each city’s icon to discover how our inaugural five cities are leading the charge in regulatory innovation.