Ask people to name the most innovative states in America, and you are not likely to hear the word “Ohio.” Isn’t that the Midwest farm state where all the factories went broke?

If you are still living in the 1980s, yes. But I had a front-row seat for a different story at Ohio’s Future of Mobility Conference, hosted by the Beta District and the Intelligent Community Institute of Dublin Ohio It took place at the Automotive and Mobility Innovation Center in the Beta District, a technology corridor between Dublin and neighboring Marysville, where private and public-sector partners have created a unique test bed for connected vehicles. They have installed fiber networks and wireless transceivers along 35 miles of State Route 33, a busy road for cars and trucks where technology is being stress-tested in all weathers and road conditions.

I had the pleasure of visiting Dublin, Ohio again last month to speak at the Smart Cities Workshop produced by the ICF Institute there. Led by Doug McCollough (pictured right), the Institute is Dublin’s contribution to the development of central Ohio and the entire state based on ICF’s Community Accelerator Strategy.

After the hard years of pandemic, the Dublin Institute returned to its regular programming on September 29 for the Intelligent Communities and aspiring cities and regions in central Ohio. It was once called the Rust Belt, but the middle of this American state has become an innovation engine in both business and government. 

In June, city manager Dana McDaniel retired from his long-time leadership position with the city of Dublin, Ohio. Dana founded the ICF Global Institute at Dublin in 2016 as an educational initiative for community leaders throughout central Ohio. Within a few years, it was instrumental in the rise of a cluster of Intelligent Communities in the region, including the cities of Defiance, Fairlawn, Hilliard, Hudson, Westerville and Columbus.

On October 27, a delegation from New Taipei City, Taiwan (which for the uninitiated is NOT Taipei) literally and metaphorically crossed the Bridge.

That afternoon, New Taipei City, along with members of the Top7 communities of the Year, walked toward the Scioto River in Central Ohio, through the streets of Dublin. Dublin is a testament to the concept of “New Urbanism” and a case study in political will and vision. We slowly came to the foot of the US$23 million Dublink Bridge, the largest “S” shaped walking bridge in North America. It is breathtakingly beautiful and the only bridge in North America – or the world – named after a fiber optic telecommunications network! A municipally built one at that.

Official Declaration to take place during the ICF Summit Awards Dinner on October 27 at the Ohio Statehouse

(OCTOBER 21, 2022 – NEW YORK CITY) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) has declared the State of Ohio to be the world’s first Intelligent State at the conclusion of months of research conducted by ICF and its Global Institute in Dublin, Ohio. The research project aims to develop a set of objective standards and an evaluation process enabling other states and provinces to qualify as Intelligent States or Provinces, based on programs and practices at the municipal, county and state level.

Guests to include leaders from around the world and the Global Top7 Intelligent Communities, one of which will succeed Winnipeg as the 2022 Intelligent Community of the Year

(August 11, 2022, New York, NY & Dublin, OH, USA) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), the Institute for the Study of the Global Intelligent Community and the city of Dublin, Ohio, USA will present the 2022 ICF Global Summit: The Future of the Connected Community: The Intelligent Ohio Framework from October 26-27.

What do Intelligent Communities know that others do not? Intelligent Communities like Espoo (Finland), Dublin (Ohio, USA), Eindhoven (The Netherlands), Tallinn (Estonia) and the current Intelligent Community of the Year, Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) are no longer just “smart cities.” They have gone at least one level higher. In our Moment of Truth podcast series, we ask them when they realized that they had gone from “smart city” to Intelligent Community, and what exactly it means to them. We also ask how they managed to get there.

In this freewheeling conversation, municipal CIOs and IT experts discuss the challenges of deploying reliable and secure information technology systems to support operations, deliver services and improve decision-making – within the limits of municipal budgets.  They explore the opportunities to expand capabilities and reduce costs provided by the latest technology developments.

In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with Dublin, Ohio CIO Doug McCollough about how social media can be used not only to communicate with citizens, but to measure sentiment and learn about current demeanor in your communities.