Reaching for the top: Winnipeg in running for 2018 Intelligent Community of the Year
For the third time in five years, Winnipeg has been recognized by the International Community Forum (ICF) as one of the world’s leading intelligent communities. This international challenge recognizes the city’s global leadership in technology deployment and effective data usage, digital innovation and advocacy, and demonstrating a commitment to using data to improve the lives of its citizens.
This is Winnipeg’s third commendation from the ICF as a Top 7 Intelligent Community, having also received this designation in 2017 and 2014. Winnipeg is one of only two Canadian cities recognized by the ICF for 2018, alongside cities in Taiwan, Finland and Australia.
How were we chosen?
Before being selected as a Top7 Intelligent Community, Winnipeg was among those named to ICF’s list of the Smart21 Communities of the Year. The Smart21 were named in October 2017 during Silicon Harlem’s “Community Forward” conference in New York City. Candidates are evaluated based on seven criteria: six Intelligent Community Indicators, which provide the conceptual framework for understanding all of the factors that determine a community's competitiveness and point to its success in what the Intelligent Community Forum calls, “The Broadband Economy,” and an annual theme. The 2018 theme is Humanizing Data, which explores the intersection between big data and open data, and the impacts of a data-driven economy on communities.
Winnipeg’s ICF submission highlighted several local initiatives that incorporate data benefits. The municipal government’s Open Data Portal, which allows anyone access to machine-attributable data and creates a collaborative platform for data sharing and analysis. This initiative offers a gateway for businesses and investors to access municipal data freely and independently. Another local initiative, TRAINFO, provides real-time railway data for Winnipeg’s 250+ rail crossings, and is working to predict train commuter information to improve traffic conditions.
Read Winnipeg’s official nomination documents here and here.
Economic Development Winnipeg’s Senior Vice President Greg Dandewich spoke recently with Louis Zacharilla, co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum about Winnipeg’s bid to be the 2018 Intelligent Community of the Year. Listen to the podcast below:
What Comes Next?
From April 17 - 20, 2018, Intelligent Community Forum co-founder Louis Zacharilla participated in a Winnipeg site evaluation tour. Officials with Economic Development Winnipeg toured Zacharilla around several sites in Winnipeg, including:
- Sister High School, which has received widespread acclaim for its Interactive Digital Media program
- City of Winnipeg’s innovative Transportation Management Centre (TMC)
- Seven Oak Hospital’s Chronic Disease Innovation Centre and more
At the ICF Global Summit in June 2018, one of the Top Seven cities will be named ICF's Intelligent Community of the Year, based on a second round of analysis, the site visits by ICF's co-founders and the votes of an international jury. The event takes place in London, England.
