(March 28, 2023 – New York City, NY, USA) – Two award-winning cities in North America and Asia have received the first Intelligent Community Certifications issued by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), identifying them as investment-ready and prepared to prosper economically, socially and culturally amid the challenges and opportunities of the digital age. 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 a high quality of life.

Fredericton, a three-time honoree as a Top7 Intelligent Community in the ICF award program, received Provisional Certification based on completion of multiple questionnaires over recent years. ICF applied its proven analytic process to the data to generate a total score meeting or exceeding the threshold for Certification. ICF provides a profile of Fredericton at https://www.intelligentcommunity.org/fredericton_new_brunswick.

New Taipei City, which was named ICF’s Intelligent Community of the Year in October 2022, received Full Certification based on completion of multiple questionnaires and a site audit by ICF executives, which confirmed the data analysis. ICF provides a profile of New Taipei City at https://www.intelligentcommunity.org/new_taipei_city. Both Certifications will remain in effect through March 2025.

“ICF has spent two decades developing and refining our tools for evaluating the potential and progress of municipalities and regional administrations,” said ICF co-founder Robert Bell. “We invested this time and effort to ensure high credibility for our international Intelligent Community Awards. The same rigorous approach is now being applied to Intelligent Community Certification, which provides economic development value, validates the work of community leaders and spurs continuous improvement toward prosperity, inclusivity and sustainability.”

About Intelligent Community Certification
Intelligent Community Certification is provided in two stages. In the first stage, the municipality, county or region completes an online questionnaire with guidance from ICF. It reports on connectivity, workforce development, public and private-sector innovation, digital inclusion, public engagement and sustainability and resilience. ICF applies its proven analytic methods to the data provided in the completed questionnaire 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.

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.

ICF describes the standards for Intelligent Community Certification at https://www.intelligentcommunity.org/certification_standards.

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’s mission is to help communities create innovative, sustainable and growing economies, inclusive societies and affirming cultures open to the world. 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 sustainable path for the next generation.

The Forum sponsors Institutes in North America and Taiwan 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 were 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.

Contacts
Matthew Owen, Executive Director
Intelligent Community Forum
[email protected]

Sarah Corey Hollohan, Director
Ignite Fredericton
[email protected]

Sandy Shen, Executive Secretary
New Taipei City Smart City Office
[email protected]