(New York City, July 7, 2010) - The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a New York-based think tank dedicated to studying the use of information and communications technologies to build the 21st Century community, announced today that it is one of 27 coalition partners, led by the Blandin Foundation, awarded a $4.7 million US federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant. Through this grant, the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities coalition will bring a network of resources and support to rural Minnesota individuals and communities – especially those unemployed and seeking employment, small businesses, coalitions of government entities and local leaders.
As part of the BTOP grant, eleven communities throughout rural Minnesota will receive up to $100,000 each to develop and demonstrate broadband projects through the grant. These "demonstration communities" are Benton County, Cook County, Grand Rapids/Itasca County, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Stevens County, Upper Minnesota Valley region, Thief River Falls, Willmar/Kandiyohi County, Winona, Windom and Worthington.
ICF's contribution will be development of a set of metrics that will be used to judge the communities' potential for exploiting the power of broadband to build more prosperous and inclusive economies, and to measure their actual progress over time. The metrics will be based on ICF's Intelligent Community Indicators, which are the foundation of the Forum's Intelligent Community Award program and its Community Accelerator service.
"The Indicators have proven their value in evaluating the progress and understanding the dynamics of communities that are already well advanced in deploying and using broadband to create an innovation and knowledge-driven economy," said ICF co-founder Robert Bell, who will be ICF's lead analyst on the project. "I am looking forward to developing a related set of metrics that can capture the raw potential of places just starting out on the road to becoming Intelligent Communities, and measure their early progress toward the goal."
The BTOP grant will be also used to leverage resources of coalition partners to extend small business technical assistance and training, expand hours for access to workforce centers, distribute refurbished computers, train individuals and businesses, and create courses for knowledge workers.
Blandin Foundation submitted in August 2009 the application for federal broadband stimulus funding on behalf of the coalition, which includes Minnesota-based universities, nonprofits and regional development communities, and will administer the grant on behalf of the partners.
"In this incredibly fast-paced world of the Internet," said Blandin Foundation president Jim Hoolihan, "one thing is clear: communities that invest in broadband connectivity, a robust knowledge workforce, digital inclusion, innovation and marketing and advocacy will harness the power of the Internet and overcome barriers of distance. That's the goal, and the critical work, of this statewide coalition."
The total cost of the coalition's proposed projects is estimated at more than $6 million. Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities coalition members will contribute $1.3 million in resources as matching funds toward the effort."
About ICF
The Intelligent Community Forum is a think tank that studies the economic and social development of the 21st Century community. Whether in industrial or developing nations, communities are challenged to create prosperity, stability and cultural meaning in a world where jobs, investment and progress increasingly depend on broadband communications. For the 21st Century community, connectivity is a double-edge sword: threatening established ways of life on the one hand, and offering powerful new tools to build prosperous, inclusive economies on the other. The Intelligent Community Forum seeks to share the best practices of the world's Intelligent Communities in adapting to the demands of the Broadband Economy by conducting research, hosting events, publishing newsletters and producing an international awards program.
