21 Reasons to Apply for ICF’s SMART21 2020 Award’s Recognition

1.     Absolutely NO COST to apply. We have been involved in these awards since 1999 and our current 185+ communities that have been recognized through this process have never paid for the awards and related benefits they have received.

2.     In fact, if you are selected as a TOP7 Intelligent Community, ICF will provide 2 free tickets to the Annual Summit and to the incredible Awards Dinner for community leaders attending the event.

3.     Winning communities receive free “earned media” publicity through ICF’s media channels and social media around the world.

4.     Winning communities are often promoted as part of ICF’s presentations, videos, publications and podcasts worldwide.

5.     Selected communities are granted the right to identify themselves as ICF-recognized Smart21 Cities and Intelligent Communities.

6.     Intelligent Communities also tend to benefit from extensive viral communications about this recognition.

7.     ICF Smart21 communities are extended the right to use its recognized logos for marketing purposes. ICF also create special Smart21 logos for these communities to use.

8.     Similarly, TOP7 Intelligent Communities and the Intelligent Community of the Year are recognized with different logos and are also granted exclusive rights to use the logos for marketing and identification purposes.

9.     ICF will write blogs and reference these communities in articles in industry, civic and technology journals and through global presentations throughout the year.

10.  These communities may also be referenced in books published through ICF.

11.  If the communities make the Top 7 list, ICF will send a senior executive to experience and validate their success on site and share this with the global judging panels.

12.  Local media opportunities associated with the TOP7 site visit help to raise awareness of the community’s great achievement at the local level.

13.  SMART21 and TOP7 Intelligent Communities will be celebrated at an event at the ICF ‘s annual Summit.

14.  SMART21 communities may be featured on individual webinars and podcasts.

15.  SMART21 communities are invited to join the exclusive Intelligent Community Forum Foundation (ICFF), the association of Smart21 Intelligent Communities, which has additional benefits of networking, building city-to-city connections, being part of visiting smart city tours and promotion as unique ecosystems to attract and retain talent and FDI. Communities cannot join this association unless it has qualified first as a SMART21 Intelligent Community (this year or in previous years).

16.  In some countries such as in Taiwan and Canada, communities that apply and win a spot on the SMART21 list may begin to work within these affiliated ICF entities, gaining additional benefits from these domestic ICF related organizations in their countries.

17.  Through the ICF Awards process, communities will learn what gaps, if any, it has, compared to other globally comparable communities. Benchmarking against other communities is a great benefit.

18.  The completed application form asks unique questions about the community that is often used afterwards by communities as the basis of a new community audit and often used in economic development promotional profiles as a smart and intelligent community.

19.  Members from SMART21 Intelligent Communities may be invited to be speakers at future SMART21 or TOP7 announcements, ICF’s Annual Global Summit and in other conferences, showcasing their competitive advantages as Intelligent Communities to the world.

20.  Cities, Towns and Regions that apply to be recognized as Smart21 communities will be exposed to ICF’s Intelligent Community indicators and can further learn what it takes to become investment ready communities to attract and retain jobs, investment and talent in their communities.

21.  Any size of community can apply and be recognized, no matter how remote, as long as you are connected!

These 21 benefits, and more, are only available if you submit an application at: http://www.intelligentcommunity.org/nominations .

To become recognized by the Intelligent Community Forum as an Intelligent Community we undertake a year-long process that simultaneously celebrates and promotes these communities as we evaluate them first from a SMART21 level and later to the TOP7 and finally as the Intelligent Community of the Year. Good luck. Please submit by September 23, 2019 and learn if you made the SMART21 list the following month at the Rochester SMART21 event.