(May 20, 2020 - New York City) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) today released Investment-Ready Abbotsford: The Story of an Intelligent Community. The new research report details a multi-year program developed by ICF and the leadership of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada to deepen understanding of today’s economic development challenges and opportunities, and to contribute to the evolution of new strategies and programs.

“Abbotsford is typical of small-to-midsize cities around the world in having a legacy industry – agriculture in their case – that cannot provide job growth today. It is not typical in its ambition to change that situation and build a dynamic, job-creating economy on the solid foundation of its agricultural strengths. Investment-Ready Abbotsford tells its story.”

ICF’s Global Summit will take place October 21-23 in Dublin, Ohio, USA, with the Intelligent Community of the Year announcement on October 22

(New York, NY, USA and Dublin, OH, USA – April 2, 2020) – In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ICF and its host city of Dublin, Ohio, USA have rescheduled the Global Summit from its original June dates to October 21-23, 2020.

Rescheduling the Summit will also push back the awarding of the Intelligent Community of the Year to October 22. ICF is taking this opportunity to revamp its future awards program schedule as well. The deadline for nominations for the 2021 cycle will move to January 7, 2021, with the Smart21 (semi-finalist) announcement scheduled for February.

Nominations are being accepted now for 2021, and communities are invited to download the questionnaire from www.intelligentcommunity.org/index_questionnaire. By submitting it, they will receive a free Snapshot report comparing their readiness and performance to ICF’s global data set.

Small and Midsized Communities from Four Nations Become Finalists to be named Intelligent Community of the Year at ICF Global Summit in Dublin, Ohio, USA in June

(New York, USA and Taoyuan, Taiwan – 10 February, 2020) – In an announcement this evening at an international conference at Taoyuan, Taiwan, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) named the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2020. The 18th annual Top7 list includes cities and counties from the United States, Canada, Australia and Estonia. One of these seven finalists in the think tank’s annual awards program will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Summit in June in Dublin, Ohio, USA on June 18th. (www.icfsummit.com)

In alphabetical order, the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2020 are:

• Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
• Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
• Hudson, Ohio, USA
• Markham, Ontario, Canada
• Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
• Tallinn, Estonia
• Westerville, Ohio, USA

(January 23, 2019 – New York City, NY, USA) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) has released a comprehensive ranking of sustainability in cities and regions in a dozen nations that have been identified as Intelligent Communities. Sustainability is one of the six key factors defining Intelligent Communities in the ICF Method.

Sustainability is considered a success factor because it offers multiple benefits to the economic, social and cultural life of communities. Quality of life in a community is tied to the environment within the community, from air quality to water pollution. Communities must take action toward sustainability goals to improve their quality of life and protect themselves from harm – all while contributing to the health of the world.

10 Nations including Estonia and New Zealand Represented on List

22 October, 2019 – New York City, NY and Rochester, NY (USA) – In a ceremony from the Arbor at the Port in Rochester, New York and a simultaneous global announcement online from its New York City headquarters, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) today named the world’s Smart21 Communities of 2020.

Selection of this group of regions, cities and towns begins the think tank’s annual eight-month process which will conclude when ICF names the 2020 Intelligent Community of the Year in June 2020 at the ICF Summit. These semi-finalists for the New York-based ICF’s international award are global communities deemed most ready for the 21st century. Each has applied the six principles of ICF’s Method to begin to build local economic expansion and prosperity, social health and cultural richness. The ICF believes that these factors together make a community strong and resilient. Each community chose to make the journey from Smart City to Intelligent Community and many have been working on their programs for several years.

(September 26, 2019 - New York City) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) today released Steering a Sustainable Community. The new research report shares dynamics, strategies and successful examples of Sustainability in action in fix Intelligent Communities.

Sustainability can be the source of controversy on the national level. But at the local level, it is easier to agree on the need for clean air, clean water, less pollution and the preservation of what we cherish most.

Year-Long Awards to culminate in June at the ICF Summit in Dublin, Ohio, USA

(July 11, 2019 – New York City) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) is calling for nominations for the 2020 cycle of its prestigious Intelligent Community of the Year Awards Program.

The annual Awards Program, which is run by the New York-based think-tank, will name its 22nd Intelligent Community of the Year at the 2020 ICF Summit in June 2020 in Dublin, Ohio, USA. The 2019 recipient Taoyuan, Taiwan, was named in New York in June.

(June 13, 2019 – New York City) – For the first time in six years, the Intelligent Community Forum honored a Taiwanese city with its top award tonight when it named Taoyuan, Taiwan as its 2019 Intelligent Community of the Year. Taoyuan is a well-known veteran of the Intelligent Community Awards program, having been previously named a ten-time Smart21 Community and a four-time Top7 Community since first entering the program in 2009.

“Taoyuan has been one of the highest overall achievers among smart and Intelligent Communities for the past decade,” said ICF co-founder Louis Zacharilla. “They have stayed with it and while most people may not recognize the name Taoyuan City, it is at the same level as Stockholm, Toronto and Melbourne. It is a place where quality of life, job creation and the digital environment’s ability to unleash innovation meet in perfect unison.”

Taoyuan was selected as the 2019 Intelligent Community of the Year after a year-long evaluation that included a quantitative analysis of extensive data, site inspections by an Intelligent Community Forum co-founder and votes from an international jury made up of experts from around the world. Communities in the Awards program are evaluated based on the six Intelligent Community Indictors that make up the ICF Method and in the context of ICF’s annual theme, When Tech Giants Come to Town.

(May 1, 2019 – New York City, NY, USA) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) has released a comprehensive ranking of Intelligent Communities grouped by their ability to create a knowledge-based workforce, one of the Factors defining Intelligent Communities in the ICF Method.

The list is the latest publication in ICF’s By The Numbers series. It provides a useful guide to the relative strengths of communities in ICF’s network, and an inspiration for greater progress in coming years. Future By the Numbers rankings of Intelligent Communities will be released by ICF in the coming months.

(April 9, 2018 – New York City, NY, USA) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) has released a comprehensive ranking of Intelligent Communities grouped by Innovation, one of the Factors defining Intelligent Communities in the ICF Method. The list is the latest publication in ICF’s By The Numbers series. It provides a useful guide to the relative strengths of communities in ICF’s network, and an inspiration for greater progress in coming years. Future By the Numbers rankings of Intelligent Communities will be released by ICF in the coming months.

The list ranks Intelligent Communities in our global data set using data on communities submitted from 2014 through 2018. This data is carefully weighted to balance the self-reported and third-party data of the Smart21 evaluation and the data from later stages of evaluation that is subject to onsite validation.