The Intelligent Community

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Looking Ahead at the Top 7 Conference May 28, 2025

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The Top7 Communities of 2025 will be announced in Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain – a Smart21 Community and leading community in Spanish intelligent community development. Las Rozas is a city of just under 100,000 people, and is home to nearly 15,000 companies and self-employed workers. Its success has been from a combination of strong mayoral leadership, multi-level workforce development, and an innovation ecosystem largely driven by Las Rozas Innova, the Municipal Company for Innovation, Technological Development, Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship. This event is being produced in collaboration with the city of Las Rozas de Madrid and Las Rozas Innova. Hear from Executive Director, Matt Owen, about this special, three-day event and from the Mayor of Las Rozas de Madrid Spain, Jose de la Uz. Tune in next week for a special episode featuring the Province of Limburg's, Regional Minister, Stephen Satijn.

Smart and Smarter Canada, Part 2 May 14, 2025

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Canada has contributed more Intelligent Communities to the ICF global network than any other country. In 2025 Canada once again placed four of its regions and cities on the list of ICF's Smart21, the first step in the annual Awards program. How does Canada achieve this hard-won annual goal? And what do this year's communities have to say about sustainability, economic development… and that little dispute with their neighbor, friend and largest trading partner! A great roundtable conversation with four of Canada's best. Our guests include:

Savanna Myers, Director of Economic Development, Grey County, Ontario, Canada
Wendy Dupley, Economic Development Advisor, Langley, BC, Canada
Donna Gillespie, CEO, Kingston Economic Development Corporation, Kingston, Canada
Simon Gill, Director of Economic Development & Tourism, Durham, Canada

Smart and Smarter Canada, Part 1 Apr 30, 2025

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Savanna Myers, Director of Economic Development, Grey County, Ontario, Canada
Wendy Dupley, Economic Development Advisor, Langley, BC, Canada
Donna Gillespie, CEO, Kingston Economic Development Corporation, Kingston, Canada
Simon Gill, Director of Economic Development & Tourism, Durham, Canada

A New Idea for Urban Mobility: A Conversation with Doug McCollough Apr 16, 2025

Show notes

Doug McCollough has been CIO of leading digital cities, including Dublin, Ohio where he helped lead that small city to multiple awards, including ICF's Top7. He recently took over the role of Executive Director for the ICF Institute, and was recently names the first-ever Executive Director of the Beta District, which spans several cities in the most important industrial corridor of Central Ohio. And he is producing a Future of Mobility Conference in May that will bring new ideas to the life of urban movement. Known for his sharp turns toward innovation and intellectual prowess when it comes to understanding the link between connectivity, economic growth and social development, McCollough has been a leader in ICF's global intelligent community movement and one of its most popular speakers.

Doug McCollough works to connect people to opportunities, remove barriers, and promote change in initiatives ranging from Smart and Connected Cities, IT Workforce Development, expanding broadband access, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, and Blockchain. Now serving as the Executive Director of The Beta District in Central Ohio, which organizes innovation, development, and investment in Smart Mobility industry sectors, he speaks as a Subject Matter Expert and advocate on using technology for community development.

Doug is also the CEO of Color Coded Labs, which targets underserved, underrepresented, and marginalized communities, seeking gritty working adults for new, transformative career pathways in the technology industry, and co-founder of The Columbus Rising Project, which fights against the digital divide by sharing basic tech skills in the Columbus, Ohio region.

Prior to his current work, Doug held positions within the State of Ohio Departments of Public Safety, Commerce, Industrial Commission, and Medicaid. He served as the Director of Information Technology for the City of Richmond, Virginia, and as CIO for the City of Dublin, Ohio. He is on the boards of Per Scholas Columbus, TECH CORPS, and Jewish Family Services of Columbus, is a cofounder of Black Tech Columbus, and former Trustee for the Central Ohio Transit Authority.

Doug earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Toledo in Information Systems and Operations Management and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame.

What It Takes to Make a Better World - A Conversation with Andre L. Jones Apr 02, 2025

Show notes

Guyana is defined by its dense rainforest. Culturally connected to the Caribbean region, it has become a richer country due to its oil production and GDP per capita. But it has high levels of poverty. Especially in the rural areas. One person with an understanding of connectivity from his years in the satellite and telecommunications industries decided to go back home to tackle this fundamental issue, which is central to ICF's purpose. Born in one of the poorest regions of Guyana, executive Andre L. Jones started WANSAT Networks to provide connectivity and development to the rural areas where he grew up. The story is a great one. Inspiring. How he approached the project is instructive to any rural district seeking to go on a journey toward Intelligent Community status.

Andre L. Jones co-founded WANSAT Networks, Inc. to provide connectivity to underserved and unserved areas in his birth country of Guyana. Born in one of the poorest regions of the nation, he witnessed firsthand the challenges that rural communities faced due to their isolation. When oil was discovered in Guyana, for example, the nation experienced rapid economic expansion, but the benefits did not reach many rural areas. Andre turned the years of expertise in the satellite communications industry he had developed as a successful businessman in the United States toward the problem, securing vital partnerships with leading companies operating in the region like Intelsat, Viasat and Telefonica. Through these partnerships, WANSAT was able to deliver connectivity to remote regions unreached by fiber and terrestrial networks, providing those isolated communities with access to essential services and communication options.

WANSAT has installed satellite terminals in remote communities throughout Guyana, allowing previously unconnected citizens to access the government's telemedicine program, including remote consultations and general healthcare access. This connection is a lifeline for remote villages, providing timely diagnoses and medical advice that were previously out of reach. WANSAT connectivity also facilitates distance learning, enabling rural students to participate for the first time in programs such as the government's GOAL initiative. Students in remote areas now have access to educational resources and opportunities that were once unimaginable, leveling the playing field and fostering a brighter future for these communities. Guyana's gold mining industry has been another major beneficiary of WANSAT connectivity. Miners, who often face prolonged isolation from their families, now benefit from satellite internet that keeps them connected to their loved ones. This connectivity not only enhances social cohesion, but also improves workplace safety and personal security, mitigating the extreme hardships that come with long separations.

To ensure that WANSAT's connectivity offerings continue to benefit communities throughout Guyana, Andre has established training programs to equip local youth and former defense personnel with the knowledge of how to install and maintain satellite systems. He actively collaborated with Guyana's largest telecom provider, GTT (now One Communications), to ensure sustainable development and increased regional participation in the nation's rapid economic growth. For Andre, WANSAT is not simply about technology, but about ensuring that no one is left behind in Guyana's economic transformation.

Digital Trust & One Million Trees for New York Part 2 Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

The New York City's Department of Parks' first Director of Data Analytics who contributed the key ingredients to the success of the city's Million Trees Research Conference and knows her way around urban forests discusses her new venture, Helpful Places, and how digital trust can be imbedded in the organization of community governments. It's a fascinating conversation with one of the world's most sought-after speakers. Canadian-based Lu, who also discusses what she learned from her work on the highly controversial Sidewalk Labs project in Toronto tells The INTELLIGENT Community audience how it went "sideways" and what she learned

Jacqueline advances technology transparency and legibility for people-centered smart(er) cities. She leads Helpful Places, a social impact enterprise advancing the adoption and stewardship of Digital Trust for Places and Routines (DTPR.io), an open-source visual language and nutrition label standard designed to increase transparency and legibility for urban technology. She is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Data Equity, Council for the Connected World and a working group member and contributor to the G20 Smart Cities Alliance.

Jacqueline's experience spans public, private and non-profit sectors. As Data Lead at Mozilla Foundation, Jacqueline led the development and implementation of their data strategy. As Director of Digital Integration at Sidewalk Labs, she led incorporating innovation objectives, technology policy and data ethics into the company's approach to urban development projects.

As the inaugural Director of Data Analytics at the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, she developed the agency's data strategy, developed the open data program and founded its first data science team. Jacqueline also spearheaded the largest participatory street tree mapping project in U.S. history, culminating in the NYC Tree Map, a digital platform for the collaborative management of NYC's urban forest.

Digital Trust & One Million Trees for New York Mar 05, 2025

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Top7 Trends in 2025: A Conversation with the Founders and Executive Leadership of ICF, Part 2 Feb 19, 2025

Show notes

A fun, informative and rolling conversation with the three founders of ICF and the movement, along with its Executive Director. The group discusses the holistic approach to economic and social development and explains why cities from Ohio to Taiwan to Brazil share similar approaches on their successful journeys. They conclude by sharing their top seven trends for cities in 2025. Our moderator and guests include:

Lou Zacharilla, Co-Founder, ICF
Robert Bell, Co-Founder, ICF
John Jung, Co-Founder, ICF
Matt Owen, Executive Director, ICF

Top7 Trends in 2025: A Conversation with the Founders and Executive Leadership of ICF, Part 1 Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

Our moderator and guests include:

Lou Zacharilla, Co-Founder, ICF
Robert Bell, Co-Founder, ICF
John Jung, Co-Founder, ICF
Matt Owen, Executive Director, ICF

2024 Intelligent Community of the Year recipient, Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, Part 2 Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

In part one of this conversation, you heard the world's most Intelligent Community of the Year tell you how they have used innovation and planning to evolve into one of the world's elite cities. Today, I want to go deeper to the core of this whole movement and listen as Dario Paixao tells you unequivocally that what is being done in creative can be a model for 398 communities in his state model that will bring democracy closer to people and fulfill a mandate all governments have to listen and to act. Be inspired today on The Intelligent Community.

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