Founded in 1404, Tianjin is the biggest coastal city and largest seaport in northern China. It functions as neighboring Beijing's gateway to the sea, and is one of four Chinese municipalities under the direct jurisdiction of the central government. This city of 11 million has a strong industrial base in automobiles, pharmaceuticals, metallurgy, petrochemicals and such new fields as environmental services, and saw GDP growth of nearly 16% from 2003 to 2004, when its total output was worth US$36.3 billion. The city added 214,500 new jobs in 2004, 18% more than the prior year and saw per-capita income rise 14%.

The municipal government has nonetheless set its sights on building equally powerful information technology and service industries, and has eagerly embraced broadband and IT as means to make government more efficient and responsive, and business more productive. Northern China has been late to the Internet and broadband revolution, and there is a clear sense of urgency in Tianjin's efforts to catch up. Tianjin was among the Top Seven in 2005, and for the second year in a row, ICF recognizes the city for its aggressive application of the principles of Intelligent Community development in the unique political and economic environment of China.

From 20,000 to 2.7 Million in Two Years

Tianjin's Intelligent Community initiative is focused on broadband deployment for citizens, business and government; on e-government applications to make government more responsive and efficient; and on development of new high-tech industrial zones. The goals in its current five-year plan are to provide broadband access in 100% of the 12 km2 (4.6 sq. mile) city, have 80% of households own a PC and 55% of residents become Internet users, and have total broadband penetration reach 60%. Collaborating with telecom carriers, cable TV companies and equipment manufacturers, the city has deployed 20,000 km (12,500 miles) of optical fiber in multiple interconnected networks. The city had 2.7 million Internet subscribers at the end of 2004, up 35% from the prior year. (At the end of 2002, only 20,000 people in all of Tianjin used the Internet.) Broadband subscribers totaled 600,000 or 5% of the total population. A newly completed telecommunications hub in Tianjin provides switching and control for networks that connect the nine provinces of northern China.

Though part of the Beijing metroplex, Tianjin contains large rural areas where farming is the predominant industry. A “village to village” program has, with help from satellites, connected nearly 4,000 villages to the Internet and has helped to transform rural life. One small company, Jinmao Co. Ltd. In Wang Zhuang Village, was founded with the equivalent of US$62 in 1984 to manufacture manual agricultural tools. After setting up a Web site in 1996, the company began receiving orders from throughout China and expanded its products to include painting, cleaning, gardening and other tools. Their products are now available in five of the six biggest furniture chains in China, and the company's sales have reached US$18 million.

Online Government, Health Care and Customs

Tianjin's e-government programs have focused in increasing efficiency, improving connectedness and centralizing information on residents. To date, the city has implemented 600 e-government applications, including public finance, taxation, city planning, housing, commerce, education and justice. Proposed government policies are posted to the Web so that citizens can offer comments before the policy is implemented. Over 250 departments use the network for internal management. The broadband network also links the city’s 210 hospitals and clinics, and an online payment system settles almost all healthcare charges. A Distance Tax Collection System allows taxpayers to check their accounts and make payments online, while a Port Information System expedites customs clearances for ships' cargos in Tianjin's port. Cash transactions are gradually being replaced by three network-access cards – bank, bus and social security – that residents use to manage their financial and transportation needs.

In China, a Resident Registration System controls internal travel and residency. Tianjin recently introduced a second-generation system designed to reduce the inconvenience to residents of re-registering at district offices whenever they change housing. The former manual process, requiring visits to multiple offices, has been reduced by data networking to a single visit.

50% of Total Exports from Technology Sector

The city's latest project is the Digital City industrial park, designed as a home for China's fast-growing software, electronics, biotech and new-energy industries. Now under construction on 10 km2 (3.8 sq. miles) of land, the new park will become home to a sector that saw a 32% increase in total revenues from 2003 to 2005 and which now produces 50% of the city's exports.

The pace of Tianjin's transformation is set by many factors, from the sheer scale of effort required to have an impact on its large, urban-rural population to the willingness of the central government in Beijing to embrace change. Measured by how far it has come in a short time, Tianjin is a notable success. Measured against the scale of its ambitions, the city still has far to go.

Population: 11,000,000

Labor Force: 5,500,000

Website: www.tj.gov.cn

Smart21 2006

Top7 2005 | 2006

The Sunshine Coast is a metropolitan area that spreads across 2,291 square kilometers of Australia’s coastline about 100 kilometers north of Queensland’s capital city, Brisbane. A sub-tropical paradise of beautiful beaches and scenic mountains, the Sunshine Coast has experienced boom times, almost doubling its population since the 1980s. Transforming from a tourism and retirement relocation, which drove the growth of construction and retailing, into a diverse growth region built around balancing the economy, environment and community needs.

Sunshine Coast Council worked with leading businesses, industry and the Queensland Government to develop the Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS) 2013–2033 which provides a 20-year vision and blueprint for sustainable economic growth. This strategy is currently undergoing a 10-year review, as the region focuses its sights on the opportunities and legacy potential as a delivery partner in the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Sunshine Coast economy continues to evolve into a modern, smart economy based on sound growth across numerous high value and knowledge-based industries including professional business services, innovative manufacturing and high tech.

Sunshine Coast International Subsea Telecommunications Cable

Sunshine Coast Council is the first local government in Australia to invest in an international submarine cable, connecting to the new Gigabit Maroochydore City Centre and providing Queensland’s first direct international data and telecommunications connection to global networks. Working in partnership with the Queensland Government, the project delivered a 550 km undersea fibre-optic cable which connects the Sunshine Coast to the 7,000 km Japan–Guam–Australia South (JGA–South) submarine cable, via the cable landing station in the Maroochydore City Centre.

The Sunshine Coast International Subsea Telecommunications Cable (SCISTC) is part of the Smart Cities Framework and Implementation plan. The purpose of the plan was to ensure major infrastructure projects such as the new greenfield Maroochydore City Centre addressed the growing emphasis on digital infrastructure and connectivity to deliver data for decision making. The plan also reflects the need for Council to innovate, invest in digital infrastructure, and coordinate digital work programs across all business services.

The SCISTC Project sought to provide redundancy, diversity for customers, reduced latency and connect Queensland business and consumers directly to international markets. The project also sought to stimulate investment and jobs growth on the Sunshine Coast, thanks to the superior telecommunications connectivity and data infrastructure, and serve to attract some of the world’s biggest data users to the region. Forecast to stimulate $927 million into the Queensland economy, the SCISTC will also help to change the region's economic profile from one dominated by the tourism, retail and construction industries and encourage big business to consider the Sunshine Coast as a tech-savvy region and a smart place for their business. This improved connectivity will stimulate the growth of high-value jobs and ultimately bring better data capacity for all citizens and, over time, lead to reduced data costs.

Sunshine Coast Innovation Ecosystem Development

Sunshine Coast Council recognizes that the region’s future prosperity lies in ideas, innovation and driving entrepreneurialism. The region has a flourishing innovation ecosystem, providing an ideal location for startups, scaleups, entrepreneurial talent and creativity. Innovation is the focus of three of the five strategic and performance pathways in Council’s goals outlined in its Corporate Plan:

• a smart economy (a regional hub for innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity)
• a healthy environment (a reputation for innovation, sustainability and liveability)
• an outstanding organization (a reputation for implementing innovative and creative solutions for future service delivery)

Since the development and implementation of the REDS in 2013, the Sunshine Coast economy has undergone a period of significant growth and diversification. This growth, along with the impact of the global pandemic, has resulted in population expansion and urban development, and now represents a regional economy worth more than AUD $20.94 billion in Gross Regional Product (Source: NIER 2022).

The Sunshine Coast innovation ecosystem is a true triple helix which continues to evolve and mature. The ecosystem now comprises the following key pillars around which extensive activities, initiatives and programs take place:

• industry advocacy and advancement groups
• youth innovation – including investment in talent and skills
• startup and entrepreneur network
• education
• incubators/accelerators and co-working spaces
• local, state and federal government programs
• anchor institutions and infrastructure investment

The industry groups, along with regional advocacy groups, local and state government have created an intrinsically woven “fabric” of collaboration and clustering which is referred to as “The Fabric of the Region.” These key groups are now driving industry-led innovation and advancement across the region.

See the Sunshine Coast Innovation System map here.

Developing, Engaging and Retaining the Next Generation Workforce

The Sunshine Coast Youth Innovation sector is being supported like never before with numerous initiatives that instigate innovation and create tangible conduits to roles that fulfil purpose and enliven the community. The Youth Innovation Sunshine Coast group came together in 2022 to advocate and coordinate programs, events and initiatives that support youth innovation, entrepreneurship and connection to industry.

Work has occurred since 2013 to recalibrate aspects of the education and training sector’s offerings to ensure these are clearly targeted to address critical gaps in the region’s workforce profile. This assists with developing viable options for the Sunshine Coast community and meaningful career pathways within the region. A world-class education sector, outstanding research facilities and a reputation for innovation makes the Sunshine Coast an ideal destination for education and research. The Sunshine Coast has the award-winning University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), a growing international education market, extensive vocational education and training facilities and a high-performing school system.

Programs like the BiG Day In digital careers day, Generation Innovation, the Mayor’s Telstra Innovation Awards, RoboRave, RoboCoast and the Delorean Project drive a passion for innovation and STEM that enables young people to create solutions for local and global problems. Training organisations such as TAFE Queensland, Australian Industry Trade College (AITC), Knoei Colab (with their trailblazing Diploma of Entrepreneurship) all work to create alternate pathways for young people and vocational learners to upskill and find their place in the world. Study Sunshine Coast is the regional study cluster that aims to attract international students to the region and to help local young people understand the opportunity that exists for them on the Sunshine Coast, both now and into the future.

For those people who have found their way to the Sunshine Coast from outside Australia, there are multiple programs to help make the transition smoother, including cultural competency training, job readiness programs and employability and industry engagement programs including the Migrant Work Ready Program, the Multicultural Business Expo and Study Sunshine Coast’s Project Global Citizen program.

Connecting the community to their dream jobs and helping them understanding the key industries is critical in ensuring a well-informed and connected community. In early 2023 Council developed two job hubs: the Sunshine Coast Jobs Hub for all types of jobs across the region; and one specifically for students – Sunshine Coast Student Jobs Hub, where casual/part-time roles, internships and placements can be located. The Sunshine Coast Jobs Hub is the place for local businesses to advertise roles for free and even locate workers through their own profiles.

To assist in helping the business community to grow, employ and prosper, there are business skills focused programs that help small businesses to upskill and thrive with courses like the Build a Better Business Course, the Scaling Up program, UniSC Business Planning Course and a bounty of assistance through the Level Up Your Business platform. Mentoring for Growth has been a hugely successful and long-term mentoring program run by the Queensland Government, which helps small business owners to get access to experienced mentors for no cost.

UNESCO Biosphere Designation

In June 2022, the Sunshine Coast officially gained recognition as a UNESCO Biosphere, recognizing the region as an international site of excellence and an area of natural beauty. The announcement follows six years of work in communication with residents and the Biosphere Community Reference Group. This designation demonstrates the community’s ambition to live in harmony with the environment and recognises the need for responsible development. The Biosphere also delivers a range of benefits for tourism and agriculture industries and has the potential to become a magnet for global consumer demand of Sunshine Coast products, and tourism attractions.

Council, the community and the wider conservation groups are collectively committed to protecting and enhancing the region, communities, economy and natural assets. This international recognition follows a successful biosphere nomination for the Sunshine Coast, which was endorsed by Council, on behalf of the community in 2019. The nomination was informed by the community, industry, interest groups and government. Becoming a biosphere demonstrates the Sunshine Coast's commitment to remain future facing to help enhance the region’s national and international reputation and aligns with Council’s vision to become Australia’s most sustainable region. One that is healthy, smart and creative.

The Biosphere will help the Sunshine Coast:

• create a legacy for future generations by ensuring a healthy environment and liveable Sunshine Coast
• further enhance and maintain the landscape, character, biodiversity, waterways, wetlands and coastal areas
• attract more investment to the Sunshine Coast and help local business grow through the creation of niche markets for the region’s products and services, facilities and practices
• provide a premium brand to increase the value of products and services through a sustainable “Produced on the Sunshine Coast” brand
• assist to achieve planning principles of urban consolidation and sustainable design to deliver inclusive, connected and vibrant communities
• increase collaboration between schools, academia, business and government with a focus on sustainability projects

To learn more about the Sunshine Coast Biosphere, see here.

Population: 356,000

Website: www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au

Smart21 2014 | 2015 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023

Top7 2019 | 2020 | 2022 | 2023

The state of Victoria, in the southeast corner of Australia, makes up only 3% of the continent’s land mass but, with over 4.7 million people, is the second most populous state in the nation. Melbourne is its capital. In 1999, state government published a white paper, Connecting Victoria, that recognized the fundamental social and economic changes being created by new technology and establish a vision for harnessing them in order to tap what it saw as enormous potential for growth. More importantly, it outlined how the government intended to help all citizens — regardless of location, background or income — to benefit from technology and its potential.

Themes for Development

Connecting Victoria established six themes for development: building a learning society, growing industries of the future, boosting e-commerce, connecting communities, improving infrastructure and access, and promoting a new style of government. And beginning in 2000, the state and private-sector partners logged solid achievements in each of the six areas. All teachers were provided with notebook computers and email accounts. Schools began updating curricula to emphasize technology skills and made students aware of technology employment opportunities. The state attracted inward investment of over A$663 million in information and telecom technology and created 5,000 jobs at a time of global downturn in ICT. To stimulate e-commerce, it created a Vic Export Web site to provide in-state companies with an online presence, distributed A$1.7 million to local communities for e-commerce projects, and helped establish the Ballarat and Portland “Televillages.” Today, there are more than 10,000 public Internet access terminals across the state, and more than 82,000 citizens have received free Internet and PC skills training. The state deployed a VicOne network to 3,500 sites, provisioned online access to over 450 government services, and through strategic consolidation of purchasing, reduced the state’s cost for voice services by 40%. Victoria’s success has been based on a clear and challenging strategy, and on the accumulation of many small victories that lay a foundation for growth.

Population: 4,700,000

Website: www.vic.gov.au

Top7 2004

Melbourne is Australia’s second largest municipality and the capital of the state of Victoria. A leading financial center, this city of 130,000 is at the center of a metropolitan area of 4.5 million people and is hub for the Australian film and television industries. In 2016, The Economist named Melbourne as the world’s most livable city for the sixth year in a row.

Filling the Gaps

Australia, however, ranks 48th in the world for the speed and services available over broadband, due to a long history of monopoly and duopoly markets. That has put Melbourne’s people, institutions and businesses at a disadvantage in reaping the economic and social benefits of the digital revolution. As a midsize city, Melbourne has many competing service providers but also significant gaps in coverage outside its central business district. A group of frustrated Internet users teamed with a community-led pilot project in Melbourne to create Lightning Broadband, which uses a mix of optical fiber and wireless to connect high-rise apartments and business customers at 100 Mbps. Rolling out in Melbourne suburbs now, it is targeting a national build-out in areas underserved by private carriers and bypassed by Australia’s National Broadband Network.

Extending Education

The Melbourne metro region is home to hundreds of two-year colleges and more than a dozen universities. Nearly 47% of its population has a graduate or undergraduate degree. City government and nonprofits have therefore targeted programs at segments of the population that are not participating fully in the knowledge economy. Code Like a Girl runs a series of tech-focused events around the city. Targeting females from 13 to 45, events like Creative Coding and The Internet of (Girl) Things teach basic programming skills while awakening girls and women to new career opportunities.

A small-scale program called Life Experience Skills Sharing pairs young people of post-secondary age with socially isolated older people in sessions where the youngsters teach digital skills. While older citizens learn to navigate the digital world, their younger companions gain in self-esteem, empathy and communication skills. The annual Melbourne Knowledge Week Festival, launched in 2010, consists of conferences, workshops and demos that showcase a smart and innovative city and brings the future city to life today.

Collaborative Innovation

Two projects, one in production and the other in development, are equipping Melbourne with new innovation districts. The Advanced Manufacturing Precinct at RMIT, a public research university, creates collaborative projects between researchers and industry, and equips them with technology and equipment to speed up prototyping and design of the manufacturing process. Early results include a 3D printed spine implant and an improved car seat for the Tesla Model S.

The Carlton Connect Initiative (CCI) aims to bring together people from diverse disciplines to one precinct, where CCI will create and curate partnerships between research and industry locally, nationally and globally. It has established the Melbourne Accelerator Project, whose 24 startup teams have already created 150 jobs and generated A$10 million in revenue. LAB-14 is CCI’s first small-scale demonstration site, where 270 people are at work on projects from computing through artistic creation. When CCI is complete, it will be Australia’s largest innovation district and home to the Melbourne School of Engineering.

Helping the Homeless Online

Like many successful cities, Melbourne faces sharp increases in its cost of living and a shortage of affordable housing, both of which contribute to the problem of homelessness. Though the city offers a wide range of support services finding is difficult for the homeless because information can be outdated, waiting lists long and the rules complex. Melbourne’s answer is Ask Izzy, a new mobile website that connects the homeless, or those at risk of homelessness, with essential services. Research showed that 80% of people experiencing homelessness in Melbourne own a smartphone. Ask Izzy is a free location-based directory that helps them find food, shelter, health and other critical services. It was developed by a partnership among a Melbourne nonprofit, Google, RealEstate.com.au and News Corp Australia.

Sustaining the Community

Melbourne makes sustainability strategy a community affair. Its Smart Blocks Solar Rebate program helps apartment owners and building managers install solar panels to reduce energy costs. The installation of a solar system on common property requires the owner or executive committee to work together to develop the concept, build a business case, and engage tenants, apartment managers and suppliers. The Smart Blocks program provides advice throughout the process. It had installed 144 KW of solar through the end of 2015 and is saving apartment owners an average of A$25,000 in energy costs per year.

Melbourne’s top score for livability is partly the product of a community plan called Future Melbourne. In 2016, the city began to refresh the plan, renaming it Future Melbourne 2026, through meetings of a Citizen’s Jury made up of residents, workers and business executives. To broaden participation, it created a digital forum called Participate Melbourne, which lets members of the community contribute to decision’s shaping the city’s future. The result has been 970 ideas for projects and a program of events that engaged participation from 2,000 people. Meanwhile, the 250,000 registered users of Participate Melbourne logged more than 50,000 sessions in a single year. Working together, the people, businesses and institutions of Melbourne are building a future that leverages the city’s strengths while working to close the gaps left by the past decade of development.

Population: 128,980

Website: www.melbourne.vic.gov.au

Intelligent Community of the Year 2017

Smart21 2006 | 2017

Top7 2017

The best acts of defiance are made in pursuit of a greater good. History is complete with tales of passive resistance, armed rebellions and legends of a person or group of dedicated souls who refuse to sell-out, cave-in or toss-down the towel, no matter how overwhelming the forces stacked against them or the depth of corruption from a perverse civil order. You and I honor the private inspirations in our lives who get us out of bed and roll us forward, somehow putting in us a deeper psychic mark and recalibrated moral settings. Those whose actions are given the stamp of the “heroic” or “visionary” after their time of persistence are seen to have been clearly on the right side of the cause, while most could only see through the glass darkly. They are, in the words of my father, not deliberate and intentional provocateurs, but people who simply “stuck by their guns.” At ICF we have 145 of them.

(New York, NY – 10 February, 2016) – The Intelligent Community Forum announced the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2016 today via live Web video from the think tank’s New York headquarters. The announcement features appearances from the Mayors of Eindhoven, Netherlands and Columbus, Ohio (USA), and the CEO of the city of Stockholm’s innovative broadband provider, Stokab.

As 2015 ends I find myself wanting to write about everything which took place over the past 12 months at ICF. It is not possible. So I will hit the high notes. Do not expect a tedious elaboration about the family ski trip to Austria, poor Aunt Sissy’s fractured hip, or the barely disguised boast about how thrilled we “all are” about the youngest being accepted at that elite private school populated by fellow one-percenters. This is not one of those loopy familial annual reports that have become so common around the holidays! Although ICF is a wonderful family, and the urge is there.

A little thing like an introduction can sometimes lead to a very big outcome. Connections between ICFF Member Intelligent Communities, for instance, can result in mutual benefits and economic development success stories that can help inspire others and provide invaluable lessons for their evolution as successful Intelligent Communities. At the ICF Summit in Toronto this year - on June 9, you can meet and hear from some of the people behind these successful connections including success stories from Dublin, Ohio and Arlington, Virginia, as well as between Eindhoven in the Netherlands and Waterloo, in Canada. The latter, in fact, is evolving in extra-special terms with a little help from some pomp and ceremony.