(27 April 2023 – New York City, NY, USA & Durham Region, ON, Canada) – On 19-20 June 2023, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) and the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario will jointly present the 2023 Top7 Intelligent Communities Conference: Better Together – Building a Strong Region from Diverse Communities. The two-day hybrid conference features live and online events in the Durham Region, culminating in the announcement of the Top7 Communities of 2023.

The Top7 Communities are chosen from among the Smart21 Communities of 2023 to be finalists in the yearly Intelligent Community Awards. In October 2023, one of these seven communities will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year at ICF’s Global Summit. The Durham Region was one of the Top7 Communities of 2022 and is a Smart21 Community again this year.

(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.

Connectivity by itself adds little value – it is what people do with it that counts. Learn from communities that have leveraged their broadband assets for business retention and attraction, market differentiation, talent attraction for remote work and regional partnerships.

Grimson spoke before a large crowd at the Southeast College's Estevan campus.

(March 14, 2023 – New York City, NY, USA & Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, USA) – The Alliance for Innovation (AFI) and the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) announced today a partnership aiming to further advance the innovation potential of local governments in the United States and around the world. Through the partnership, AFI and ICF will exchange content, expertise and communication resources with each other’s networks.

ICF Co-Founders Robert Bell, John Jung and Lou Zacharilla discuss current issues relating to broadband connectivity in our communities.

Communities from eight nations over five continents named as semi-finalists in ICF’s annual Intelligent Community of the Year Awards Program

(February 23, 2023 – New York, NY, USA) – At the conclusion of a virtual conference hosted by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) and co-hosted by Economic Development Australia (EDA) and the Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC), ICF today named the world’s Smart21 Communities of 2023.

The selection of the annual Smart21 Communities of the Year marks the semi-finalist phase in ICF’s annual Awards Program. The program will conclude when ICF names the 2023 Intelligent Community of the Year in October at the ICF Summit. One of these 21 communities named today will succeed New Taipei City, the 2022 Intelligent Community of the Year.

(February 21, 2023 – New York City, NY, USA & Sydney, NSW, Australia) – Economic Development Australia (EDA) and the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) announced today a partnership, which will support economic developers and municipal leaders in Australia and in Intelligent Communities around the world.

Through the partnership, EDA and ICF will exchange content, expertise, and communication resources with each other’s professional development and event programs and extend select benefits to each other’s members. On February 22-23, EDA joins ICF and the Economic Developers Association of Canada in hosting “Turning Connectivity into Growth” (www.icfsmart21.com), a two-day online conference that culminates with the announcement of ICF’s Smart21 Communities of 2023.

ESTEVAN - Members of Estevan city council received an update on initiatives from the community’s innovation council during Monday night’s meeting.

In a correspondence, Coun. Rebecca Foord wrote that the innovation council had a busy year in 2022. A highlight came when they successfully applied to be named an Intelligent Community through the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), which is a global network of cities and towns focusing on economic development, and looking to solve challenges through innovation and new economic development opportunities through technology.