(New York City and Columbus, Ohio, USA – October 15, 2026) – The Intelligent Community Forum announced today the Full Certification of Dublin, Ohio USA, a midsize city in the Columbus metropolitan area that is playing a leading role in the region’s economic revitalization. The announcement took place at the 2026 ICF Global Summit, “Midwest Rising,” in Columbus, Ohio, USA.
The Full Certification is based on written information submitted by the city and evaluated by ICF, followed by an in-person audit that validated this information and provided fresh insights into the city’s technology innovation, its development of an ecosystem of innovative companies, and impressive programs to develop local talent and guide it into employment and entrepreneurship.
Meeting ICF’s Certification standard provides objective validation that a community has high-quality connectivity, effective workforce development, a business innovation ecosystem and meaningful community engagement, digital inclusion and sustainability programs in place. These qualities combine to support the growth of innovative businesses, meet their talent needs and provide inclusive prosperity and a high quality of life.
“We designed Intelligent Community Certification to be a rigorous analysis of how cities adapt to the massive technology and market changes of our age,” said ICF co-founder Robert Bell. “Based on our experience with hundreds of cities and regions, it scores communities on 50 metrics in six categories. It shows that communities like Dublin do not need to live in the shadow of much bigger cities nearby. With the right leadership and strategy, they can chart their own economic, social and cultural path.” 
About Dublin
Following telecommunications deregulation in 1996, Dublin began installing a network of underground conduit to encourage deployment of broadband by private carriers. A public-private partnership with the Fishel Company soon followed, and by 2003, Dublin had built and installed optical fiber in the DubLink network. It was justified in part by the ability to offer high-speed, high-quality connections among city facilities, sharply reducing telecom costs. But it also opened the door to providing affordable high-capacity connectivity to corporations that had chosen Dublin for their home or regional offices, including Cardinal Health, Quantum Health and the Wendy’s fast-food chain.
In 2022, Dublin’s council set a goal to make the city the most connected in America. In partnership with the telecom operator altafiber, it developed a Fiber to Every Home network that was completed ahead of schedule, giving more than 15,000 Dublin homes access to bandwidth of up to 10 gigabits.
It takes more than data pipes, however, to build a competitive economy. The Dublin Entrepreneurial Center (DEC) is home to an average of 50 companies and support organizations each year. The city’s ongoing commitment to support and strengthen entrepreneurship helps explain why there are more than 4,000 companies in Dublin, with an average of just seven employees each. It also accounts for the fact that this city of 50,000 has a daytime population exceeding 70,000.
Dublin is also a leading member of the public-private partnership that has created the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor. Between Columbus and East Liberty, U.S Route 33 is home to one of the largest manufacturing clusters currently active in the state, with more than 250 companies. Dublin launched the Beta District, a regional innovation collaborative that manages a living laboratory for connected mobility applications in the Corridor.
Learn more about Dublin at the ICF website: https://www.intelligentcommunity.org/dublin_ohio.
About Intelligent Community Certification
Intelligent Community Certification is an economic development credential based on ICF’s Community Accelerator Strategy and analytic methods developed over two decades of research and work with more than 200 communities around the world. It is provided in two stages. In the first stage, the municipality, county or region completes an online questionnaire with guidance from ICF. ICF applies its proven analytic methods to the data and produces both detailed and summary scoring. Communities whose summary score meets or exceeds the standard receive Provisional Certification based on this self-reported data, and the certification must be renewed yearly to remain in effect.
Full Certification requires an onsite audit by ICF. In a site visit, an ICF auditor validates the information provided by the community for its Provisional Certification and learns more about the programs and practices that make it an Intelligent Community. Following the audit, the auditor prepares a report detailing results and updates the scoring of the community based on the audit. Communities whose summary score meets or exceeds the standard receive Full Certification, which is good for three years.
Intelligent Community Certification is based on a set of standards described in detail on the ICF website.
About the Intelligent Community Forum
Starting in 2000 with a research project comparing cities in various nations, the Intelligent Community Forum (www.intelligentcommunity.org) created a unique, data-driven approach to development that puts citizens first while tapping the enormous economic and social potential of technology. In a world dominated by digital, ICF helps cities, counties and regions use technology – and adapt to the massive changes it brings – to create inclusive prosperity, strengthen social bonds and enrich local culture for their people. These are the three markers of success for the place people call home. We do it for communities large and small, in urban clusters and outlying suburbs and rural places through training, consulting, assessment, certification and award programs. ICF believes that digital connectivity and technology create the opportunity for almost every community to develop a dynamic local economy and the social and cultural strengths that go with it – giving them all a chance to be great places to live, work, learn, grow, raise a family and prepare a path for the next generation.
The Forum sponsors Institutes around the world dedicated to the study of the movement, 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 details on the Intelligent Community Forum’s recent publications and programs, www.intelligentcommunity.org.
Intelligent Community Forum Contacts
Matthew Owen, Executive Director, Intelligent Community Forum
[email protected]
Auri Yates, Communications Manager, Intelligent Community Forum
[email protected]
