The first day of the ICF Summit, June 6, will feature many influential speakers in the intelligent community movement. Welcoming you to the summit will be ICF Co-Founders Robert Bell, John G. Jung and Louis Zacharilla, Dr. Roberto Gallardo, Founder, Intelligent Community Institute at Mississippi State and David Weng, Chief Investment Officer, Asia Silicon Valley Development Agency, Deputy Chairman, ICF Taiwan.

This year ICF is focusing on a new idea as its theme for the ICF annual Summit - the Internet of Cities. Cities are where transformation is happening at an unusual pace, especially with the convergence of the Internet of Things with the opportunities posed by 5G. Cities are also the drivers of change, where centers of innovation and creativity occur, where inclusion and circular economies take place and where cities are crucibles for experimentation and resiliency. Key areas that cities are investigating and investing in include autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, Internet of Things and smart city infrastructure. 5G will make all of these more likely and possible sooner than we imagine. As a result, cities and companies have quickened the pace for collaboration in order to be able to accommodate these transformative applications into their urban planning and design as well as into their long range budgets to deal with issues related to sustainability and resiliency. How will this be accomplished?

Each year, the leaders of Intelligent Communities gather with their partners in technology, education, business, economic development, healthcare and other sectors at the ICF Summit.  

This October - Summit 21

This October, one of the Top7 Communities of 2021 will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year at the 2021 ICF Global Summit. This year's Summit will be virtual and will feature online networking, conversations with the Top7 Communities, panel discussions, keynotes and much more!

Economic Growth Based on ICT

They engage in economic development matchmaking and a master class on challenges and best-practice solutions.  They hear thought-provoking keynotes and conversations from the innovators who are creating inclusive prosperity and solving social problems on a foundation of information and communications technology.  They network at lively social events and that honor the Top7 Intelligent Communities and witness the selection of the Intelligent Communities of the Year.

Many participate in meetings of ICF's membership.  Working through our Board and committees, they determines the Forum's policies and steer its research and development programs.  These meetings are open to both Full and Associate members of the Forum, as well as to invited guests.  

Summits take place in New York City, home of the Forum, and in Intelligent Communities around the world.  

What will you take away from the ICF Summit?

The annual ICF Summit is unlike any municipal, urban planning or economic development conference you attend.  You will take away value that translates into direct benefit to the citizens, businesses and institutions you serve:

Economic development leads.  Identify site location and investment opportunities, as well as “soft landing” targets for local business, at our economic development matchmaking session. 

Ideas you can put to use. Meet officials from cities, counties and metro areas who face similar challenges and have created strategies and programs to deal with them.  Many may have developed solutions that apply to your community. Peer mentoring starts at the Summit and continues long after through the relationships you forge. 

Inspiration to act.  Too often, efforts to build a better community wind up in an endless loop of meetings, analysis, workshops and more analysis.  The inspiring examples you encounter at the Summit show you how to take the first essential steps on the journey. 

International reach. McKinsey & Company estimates that 80% of the world’s trade will cross international borders by 2027.  Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Solow has proven that 80% of economic growth comes from technology innovation.  The Summit is your most direct route to international opportunity in the innovation economy.  

Upcoming and Past Summits

• Summit 20, Dublin, Ohio, USA (virtual)
• Summit 19, New York City, New York, USA
• Summit 18, London, UK
• Summit 17, New York City, New York, USA
• Summit 16, Columbus, Ohio, USA
• Summit 15, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Summit 14, New York City, New York, USA

Key Events at the Annual Summit

• Urban and Rural Master Classes teaching development strategies based on information and communications technology
• Economic Development Matchmaking for public and private-sector organizations seeking new opportunities.
• Top7 Intelligent Communities Reception, honoring the finalists for the Intelligent Community Awards
• Top7 Conversations with the mayors and administrative leaders of our finalists
• Intelligent Community Awards Dinner, where one of the Top7 is named Intelligent Community of the Year

You have never seen the work of Ms. Hadam Sung and her sexy dance cover group from Korea, Bambino. She is a “nugu” to you (I’ll explain that one later). On the Internet, however, she is a record-breaking superstar whose talents are cherished throughout Asia. Thanks to broadband, they are exported worldwide. Broadband and innovation, the golden combo, have made it happen for her. Not to mention her hard work and her talent.

The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) is the original smart cities organization formed in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s – initially as the Canadian Smart Cities Institute (CSCI), which worked with the World Teleport Association to organize SMART95, the first smart city conference, held in Toronto in September 1995. The CSCI evolved into the Intelligent Community Forum as a global, but New York City-based non-profit think tank, when it moved from Canada to NYC in the late 1990’s. So, yes, we have been around for a considerable time.

The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) will present its annual Summit from June 13-17 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The Summit is an international gathering of mayors, chief administrative officers, chief information officers and economic development officers from cities, state and regions around the world. It is a place to find economic development opportunities, strategic partners and technology solutions that help community leaders build prosperous, inclusive and sustainable communities.

The Web site for ICF's 2016 Summit is now live, offering an overview of the program, travel and hotel information, and registration for ICF Foundation members and guests from around the world. You may access it from the Summit page of this site or directly at ICFSummit16.com.

As we heard at the announcement of the ICF Summit in Toronto on June 11, 2015, “O-H-I-O”, representing Columbus, Ohio, was the newest Intelligent Community of the Year. The Mayor, Michael Coleman, pictured right, shot out of his seat as he and the rest of the large Columbus delegation were soon up on stage and basking in the glory of their well-deserved and long sought-after win.

This year’s Summit in Toronto was different and perhaps needs to be recounted. First of all, it was produced by an entirely new entity, ICF Canada, in partnership with Waterfront Toronto, City of Toronto, Invest Toronto and the Summit’s Platinum Sponsors, IBM and Cisco. We also had an anniversary - the 20th Anniversary Edition! We had our best-ever event this year since 1995 when we held SMART95 in Toronto – the world’s first ever Smart City conference. So it was no surprize to us that 20 years later we held a phenomenal SOLD OUT event once again that covered 5 days from June 8-12.