Annual Awards Program to culminate in October 2024 with the announcement of the 2024 Intelligent Community of the Year

(December 6, 2023 – New York City) - After announcing Binh Duong, Vietnam as the 2023 Intelligent Community of the Year, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) has opened nominations for the next cycle of its prestigious international Awards Program for cities and regions.

The honorees in the Awards Program are announced in three stages. In March 2024, ICF will name its Smart21 Communities, selected through analysis of data on hundreds of cities, counties and regions. The Smart21 announcement will take place during the Smart City Summit and Expo in Taipei, Taiwan, which will be attended by an economic development mission of ICF member communities. In June, New Taipei City will host the Top7 Conference, where ICF will name the seven communities selected by its independent analysts from among the Smart21. The 2024 Awards Program culminates with the announcement of the 26th Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Global Summit in late 2024.

More information and the nomination questionnaire can be found at https://www.intelligentcommunity.org/compete. There is no cost to submit a questionnaire. The deadline to nominate a community for consideration in the 2024 Awards cycle is February 15, 2024.

“In 2023, the Smart21 included communities from eight countries that ranged in population from 10,000 to more than 800,000,” said co-founder Robert Bell. “Our unique analysis, based on the Community Accelerator Strategy, lets us compare them their ability to create inclusive prosperity in an innovative and growing economy, along with the social connection and rich culture that it can support.”

How Communities Benefit from the Awards Program
Communities that participate in the ICF Awards Program receive many benefits:

Beginning with the Smart21, Award winners –receive international recognition through ICF’s communication program, their own efforts and the resulting media coverage. Fewer than 40 communities in any three-year period gain this status.
Unlike similar award program, ICF deliberately includes small and midsize communities as well as the large cities more typically honored by awards, because ICF evaluates their policies, programs and their results across a broad range of Factors, not just tech spending. Award-winning communities have ranged from populations of 10,000 to more than 10 million.

Completing the award questionnaire gives local governments an opportunity to view their community’s unique strengths, weaknesses and heritage in a new way – and to obtain an objective comparison with ICF’s global data on cities, counties and regions. Data from the questionnaire informs an Assessment Report that communities can request at any time after submitting their data.

With the introduction of ICF’s Certification program in 2023, completing a questionnaire is also the first step toward certifying a community as investment ready and prepared to prosper in the modern world. Certification provides objective, third-party validation of a community’s potential and progress, based on internationally recognized standards. A current list of Certified Intelligent Communities is available at https://www.intelligentcommunity.org/certified_intelligent_communities.

About Intelligent Community Forum (ICF)
The Intelligent Community Forum (www.intelligentcommunity.org), headquartered in New York, is a global network of nearly 200 cities, metro regions and counties. ICF has developed a unique economic development framework called the Community Accelerator Strategy, based on its work with over 200 communities around the world, and offers training, consulting, community certification and international awards. Implementing the Accelerator Strategy guides cities and regions in adapting to the demands of this digital century and create a triple “win” of inclusive economic prosperity that strengthens social connection and supports a rich and meaningful culture. ICF sponsors Institutes in North America dedicated to providing education and support to their regions, and national organizations in Canada and Taiwan, both home to many Intelligent Communities. In 2012 ICF was invited to participate at the Nobel Peace Prize conference in Oslo and in 2014, its model and work was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which, according to the American government, was "aimed at creating a more flexible and responsive system of workforce development to meet the needs of employers looking to fill 21st century jobs.” For more information, go to www.intelligentcommunity.org/icf_membership. For more details on the Intelligent Community Forum’s recent publications and programs, www.intelligentcommunity.org.

Intelligent Community Forum Contacts
Matthew Owen, Director of Operations, Intelligent Community Forum
Tel. +1 646-291-6166 (x105)
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Newcommunities

Victoria Krisman, Communications Manager, Intelligent Community Forum
Email: [email protected]