The Top7 Intelligent Communities of the Year
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.
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 as well as an annual theme. 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 June, 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 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 | 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 |
