From the semi-finalist communities that appear on the Smart 21 list in the autumn, ICF selects a smaller group of honorees to be its Top7 Intelligent Communities of the Year®. 

Learn how ICF selects the honorees in its award program on our Awards Process page.

How They Are Chosen

ICF uses a rigorous analytic method to select the T7.  Each Smart21 Community is invited to complete a detailed questionnaire based on ICF's Intelligent Community Indicators.  (See the Nominating Criteria page for details.)  An international academic team of Analysts reviews the questionnaires, scores each one on dozens of factors, and produces a quantitative ranking of the candidates.  The seven highest ranking candidates become ICF's Top7 Intelligent Communities. 

What They Represent

The Top7 represent models of economic and social transformation in the 21st Century.  They are not the most advanced technology centers, the most wired cities or the fastest growing economies in the world.  Instead, each exemplifies best practices in broadband deployment and use, workforce development, innovation, digital inclusion and advocacy that offer lessons to regions, cities, towns and villages around the world.  They are charting new paths to lasting prosperity for their citizens, businesses and institutions. 

What Comes Next

In October, one of the Top Seven is named ICF's Intelligent Community of the Year®, based on a second round of analysis, site visits by ICF's co-founders and the votes of an international jury.

The Top7 of 2025

Assaí, Paraná, Brazil	Hilliard, Ohio, USA
Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, Türkiye	Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Durham Region, Ontario, Canada	Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
Fairfield/Jefferson County, Iowa, USA

The Top7 of 2024

Assaí, Paraná, Brazil	Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Coral Gables, Florida, USA	Hilliard, Ohio, USA
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil	Yunlin County, Taiwan
Durham Region, Ontario, Canada

The Top7 of 2023

Binh Duong Smart City, Vietnam	Greater Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Coral Gables, Florida, USA	Hilliard, Ohio, USA
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil	Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Durham Region, Ontario, Canada

The Top7 of 2022

Binh Duong Smart City, Vietnam	New Taipei City, Taiwan
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil	Prospect, South Australia, Australia
Durham Region, Ontario, Canada	Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

The Top7 of 2021

Binh Duong Smart City, Vietnam	Moscow, Russia
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil	Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

The Top7 of 2020

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

The Top7 of 2019

Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada	Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Chicago, Illinois, USA	Taoyuan, Taiwan
Hudson, Ohio, USA	Westerville, Ohio, USA
Sarnia-Lambton County, Ontario, Canada

The Top7 of 2018

Chiayi City, Taiwan	Tainan City, Taiwan
Espoo, Finland	Taoyuan, Taiwan
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

The Top7 of 2017

Chiayi City, Taiwan	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Moscow, Russia
Grey County, Ontario, Canada	Taoyuan, Taiwan
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

The Top7 of 2016

Hsinchu County, Taiwan	Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Whanganui, New Zealand
Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
New Taipei City, Taiwan

The Top7 of 2015

Arlington County, Virginia, USA	New Taipei City, Taiwan
Columbus, Ohio, USA	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia	Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Mitchell, South Dakota, USA

The Top7 of 2014

Arlington County, Virginia, USA	New Taipei City, Taiwan
Columbus, Ohio, USA	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hsinchu City, Taiwan	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Kingston, Ontario, Canada

The Top7 of 2013 

Columbus, Ohio, USA	Tallinn, Estonia
Oulu, Finland	Taoyuan County, Taiwan
Stratford, Ontario, Canada	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Taichung City, Taiwan

The Top7 of 2012

Austin, Texas, USA	Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Oulu, Finland	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada	Taichung City, Taiwan
Riverside, California, USA

The Top7 of 2011

Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA	Riverside, California, USA
Dublin, Ohio, USA	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Eindhoven Region, The Netherlands	Windsor-Essex, Ontario, Canada
Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

The Top7 of 2010

Arlington County, Virginia, USA	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Dublin, Ohio, USA	Suwon, South Korea
Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom	Tallinn, Estonia
Eindhoven Region, The Netherlands

The Top7 of 2009

Bristol, Virginia, USA	Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Eindhoven Region, The Netherlands	Stockholm, Sweden
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada	Tallinn, Estonia
Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

The Top7 of 2008

Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom	Tallinn, Estonia
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada	Westchester County, New York, USA
Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea	Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
Northeast Ohio, USA

The Top7 of 2007

Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom	Sunderland, England, United Kingdom
Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea	Tallinn, Estonia
Issy-les-Moulineaux, France	Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario-Quebec, Canada

The Top7 of 2006

Cleveland, Ohio, USA	Taipei, Taiwan
Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea	Tianjin, China
Ichikawa, Japan	Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Manchester, England, United Kingdom

The Top7 of 2005

Issy-les-Moulineaux, France	Sunderland, England, United Kingdom
Mitaka, Japan	Tianjin, China
Pirai, Brazil	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Singapore

The Top7 of 2004

Glasgow, Scotland	State of Victoria, Australia
Spokane, Washington, USA	Western Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sunderland, England, United Kingdom	Yokosuka, Japan
Taipei, Taiwan

The Top7 of 2002

Bangalore, India	Seoul, South Korea
Calgary, Alberta, Canada	Singapore
Florida High Tech Corridor, USA	Sunderland, England, United Kingdom
LaGrange, Georgia, USA