Summit Archive

PRESENTATION - Making the case: the middle of nowhere really is no more

The devastation of the global pandemic had one major positive impact: it drove employers to accelerate the use of digital technology to redesign how and where a substantial portion of all work takes place. Connectivity, cloud services and collaboration tools suddenly became critical infrastructure. That began to unlock the grip of big cities on talent, innovation and growth, making the economy “flatter” and opportunity more available wherever people with the right skills, knowledge and connectivity gather. In this presentation, ICF co-founders make the case for a future very different from the past two decades of accelerating concentration in the biggest cities. Presented by Robert Bell, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum

PANEL - Success strategies for workforce development and talent retention

What is the “right workforce” for a community? In principle, it is one that meets the needs of today’s employers for quantity and quality – but also one that constantly improves people’s skills and prepares them for the jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities of tomorrow. It is hugely challenging to get right and, in this panel, we hear from the educational and workforce development leaders of communities of different sizes how they are supporting today’s requirements and preparing citizens for tomorrow. Speakers include:

• Lindsay Coolidge, Director, External Relations and Partnerships, Ontario Tech University
• Sarah Corey Hollohan, Chief Executive Officer, Ignite
• Mayor Martin Ritsma, City of Stratford, Ontario, Canada
• Mark Tremayne, Director of Innovation & Extended Learning, Hilliard City School District
• Kirby Dearth, Economic Development Administrator, Dublin, Ohio, USA

PANEL | Designing an economy that attracts investment and grows businesses

If you were designing your community’s economy from the ground up, what would it look like? It would have a mix of small, midsize and large employers ranging from traditional and stable companies to entrepreneurial risk-takers in leading-edge fields. They would be active partners in education, government, culture and recreation, and have access to the talent they need in sufficient numbers. Most companies would have local roots and decision authority instead of being branch operations run by remote managers. And they would form a network of customer-vendor relationships that forge a competitive advantage all can benefit from. In this panel, economic developers describe the opportunities and challenges they face in turning this picture of an ideal economy into reality. Speakers include:

• Cr Terry Landsberg, Portfolio Councillor for Economy, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
• Dan Mathieson, Former Mayor, City of Stratford, ON, Canada
• Dana McDaniel, Partner, Management Advisory Group; Senior Fellow, Intelligent Community Forum
• Peter Portheine, Director, Eindhoven International Project Office; Strategic Advisor, Intelligent Community Forum
• Wendy Dupley, Past President, Economic Developers Association of Canada (Moderator)

PRESENTATION - Charrette Recap: From Cultural Revival to Economic Opportunity: Broadband for the Eskasoni Nation

Charrette leaders recap the session from the 25th, including a next-day visualization and evaluation of the ideas developed by the groups during the workshop.

Speakers include:

• Luigi Ferrara, CEO, Brookfield Sustainability Institute
• Jacob Kessler, Director, Business Development & Account Management, Brookfield Sustainability Institute

PANEL - Digital tools for putting the citizen first

The 2022 Intelligent Community of the Year describes its smart-city strategy as using technology to “relieve the burdens of living” for its people. Technology can be powerful or paralyzing, empowering or perplexing, useful or an active nuisance. Local governments have the opportunity and responsibility to deploy technologies that truly put the citizen first while protecting their privacy. In this panel, city leaders reveal the priorities and processes they bring to providing citizens and organizations with digital tools from collaboration software to AI. Speakers include:

• Sumon Acharjee, Chief Information Officer, City of Markham, Ontario, Canada
• Dr. Norman Jacknis, Professor Of Practice, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Northeastern University; Senior Fellow, Intelligent Community Forum
• Kayla Schwoerer, Ph. D., Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)
• Rob McCann, Founder, Clearcable (Moderator)

DIALOGUE Urban centers in a distributed economy: managing the impacts

The year 2017 began a period of rising net migration of the most educated workers from high-cost metro areas in the US, a pattern evident across industrialized nations where broadband and digital tools are reliable and affordable. What at first seemed a transitory impact of COVID is increasingly viewed as a lasting change. Speakers address how major cities are working to reimagine and revitalize the urban center for the Digital Decades ahead. Speakers include:

• John Jung, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• Paul D. Selver, Partner and Co-chair, Land Use, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
• Robert Bell, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum (Moderator) 

PANEL - CIO Roundtable

Municipal CIOs and private-sector executives discuss and debate the challenges of IT infrastructure, policies and services for the public as digital services become increasingly crucial, vulnerable to attack and crime, and a forum for both collaboration and intimidation. Speakers include:

• Doug McCollough, CIO, City of Dublin, Ohio, USA
• Dr. Tuan Anh Pham, Director, Binh Duong Smart City Office
• Duane Powell, CIO, City of Hilliard, Ohio, USA
• Raimundo Rodulfo, Director of Information Technology and Chief Innovation Officer, City of Coral Gables, Florida, USA
• Moez Chaabouni, Jury Chairman, Intelligent Community Forum (Moderator)

PRESENTATION - Building a Cluster of Central Ohio Communities: the Dublin Institute

PANEL - How DOES Taiwan Do It? And Why Are Others Inspired by It?

In this presentation and panel discussion, we explore how Taiwan– home to over a dozen Intelligent Communities and most of the world’s chip manufacturing – has built a technology sector on which the world’s digital services depend. This blend of entrepreneurship, hard work, smart policies and an affirming and supportive culture offers lessons for local leaders everywhere about creating an ecosystem that drives progress in spite of geographic, diplomatic and political barriers. Speakers include:

• Maggie Chao, Deputy Division Director, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
• Debra Lam, Founding Executive Director, Partnership for Inclusion Innovation
• Lou Zacharilla, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum (Moderator)

PRESENTATIONS - Success stories from Intelligent Communities

In a rapid-fire series of presentations, officials of Intelligent Communities describe an individual project, its successes and lessons learned, for comment by ICF co-founders and analysts. Speakers include:

• Alison Burgess, Director Communications and Engagement, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada
• Bob Ferguson, Executive Director, Sustainable Living Coalition, Fairfield, Iowa, USA
• Robert Bell, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum (Moderator)