Communities from eight nations over five continents named as semi-finalists in ICF’s annual Intelligent Community of the Year Awards Program.
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.
Each of the cities, towns, or regions that appear in the Smart21 have applied the six principles of the Community Accelerator Strategy to begin building inclusive economic prosperity, social health and cultural richness, which together make a community strong and resilient. Most have been working on their programs for several years.
The Smart21 Communities of 2023:
- Assaí County, Paraná, Brazil
- Astana, Kazakhstan
- Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
- Binh Duong Smart City, Vietnam
- Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada
- Coral Gables, Florida, USA
- Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
- Defiance, Ohio, USA
- Doral, Florida, USA
- Durham Region, Ontario, Canada
- Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Fairfield/Jefferson County, Iowa, USA
- Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
- Greater Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Grey County, Ontario, Canada
- Hilliard, Ohio, USA
- Pickering, Ontario, Canada
- Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil
- Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
- Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Whanganui, New Zealand
Following this announcement, the Smart21 will provide more information on their challenges and successes. From this data, ICF Analysts will select seven to be named the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2023 at a conference taking place in the Durham Region (Ontario, Canada), on June 20. The Top7 will then be the focus of the 2023 ICF Global Summit in New York City on October 25 and 26, where one will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year.
The Smart21 are selected by ICF based on quantitative and qualitative data related to the six Factors of the Community Accelerator Strategy. The Community Accelerator Strategy provides the conceptual framework for understanding the factors that determine a community’s competitiveness in economic, social and cultural terms.
For the original press release from the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), click here.
