Community Accelerator
Accelerate Your Community Into the Broadband Economy
 ICF's Community Accelerator program provides your community with a set of development tools to improve competitive¬ness, deepen social inclusion and enhance your ability to adapt in today's fast-moving Broadband Economy. Based on years of research by the Forum for its Intelligent Community Awards program, the Community Accelerator targets the key factors that determine your community's success. Qualitative and quantitative analysis ranks your current performance against ICF's Top Seven Intelligent Communities. The analysis identifies strengths and weak¬nesses, and suggests priorities based on the strategies of the world's most successful communities. The Community Accelerator is not a consulting service. It provides information you can use to plan the next steps in your Intelligent Community program. And it puts that information into a meaningful context based on the actual practices of communities around the globe.
Inside the Accelerator
The Community Accelerator consists of three core components:
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Community Metrics. Your staff completes a detailed questionnaire on the community's achievements in broadband deployment, the development of a knowledge workforce, digital inclusion, innovation and marketing. Employing the same methods used to select the Intelligent Community of the Year, ICF analyzes the data and provides a written report containing:
- A quantitative ranking of your community against a composite of nearly 30 Intelligent Communities in nations around the world
- A qualitative interpretation of the results that indicates where your community should focus resources to make the biggest difference, and suggests relevant best practices from the ICF's data on Intelligent Communities
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Community Engagement. After completion of the Community Metrics phase, an ICF executive presents the report to key stakeholders during a 2-day site visit or webinar, which includes:
- In-depth discussions with your leadership team and key stakeholders
- ICF's intensive and proprietary "Creating the Intelligent Community" workshop, which provides a comprehensive tutorial on the essential building blocks for becoming an Intelligent Community
- If desired, interviews with local media and participation in public events to help citizens understand issues of competitiveness, inclusion and innovation in the global economy
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Community Mentoring. ICF returns to your community within one year for meetings with your leadership team and participation in community-building events. The goal is to maintain the momentum for change by:
- Providing objective feedback on progress
- Analyzing obstacles and identifying opportunities
- Recommending solutions based on the Community Metrics and best practices of other Intelligent Communities
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Why Communities Choose an Accelerator Program
- Proven methodology. The Metrics are developed using a methodology used by over 80 cities and regions to transform themselves into Intelligent Communities. It is the same methodology with which ICF selects its Intelligent Community of the Year.
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- Global perspective. The Community Accelerator is based on domestic and international data. With your community in economic competition with companies and workers around the globe, the ICF analysis measures your performance against an international benchmark.
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- Local control. The Community Accelerator provides facts, analysis and best practices, not a consultant’s “cookie cutter” formula for development. Creating a strategy, executing it and managing the challenges of change within your local culture remain your responsibility and within your control.
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- Convenience and fast turnaround. The Community Accelerator requires weeks - not years - to develop and put into action for your community.
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Pricing
For pricing and additional information, contact ICF by email or by telephone at +1 646-291-6166 x102.
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