Northeast Ohio Wins Global Award: Named One of the Top 7 Intelligent Communities of the Year

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Cleveland, OH - Northeast Ohio is one of three U.S. regions to be recognized as 2008 Top 7 Intelligent Communities by the New York-based think tank Intelligent Community Forum (ICF).  Northeast Ohio is now a finalist in the 2008 Intelligent Community of the Year competition.  The winner will be announced May 16 in New York City. 

The other six finalists represent a global footprint.  They are Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom; Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea; Tallinn, Estonia; Westchester County, New York, USA; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. 

According to the ICF, the seven (7) communities selected for this award are being recognized for building broadband networks with a sustainable business models that became catalysts to create economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental stewardship.  The networks serve as starting points and lead to community transformation through collaborative utilization. 

Northeast Ohio was selected for its success in re-creating "the entrepreneurial business, political and social culture that produced its first wave of prosperity. A successful fiber network deployment by OneCommunity has been leveraged by government and nonprofits to jumpstart new investment, improve health care delivery, bring the best in culture and education to urban schools, and engage tens of thousands of area leaders in collaboration over regional economic development," states a release from the ICF.

"The region's achievements during 2007 were remarkable," said Mark Ansboury, CTO of OneCommunity.   "The collaborative efforts of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, Team NEO, the Cleveland Clinic, NorTech, the Northeast Ohio Regional Health Information Organization, ideastream, JumpStart, BioEnterprise, and state and local leaders across Northeast Ohio have made this achievement possible."

"OneCommunity is proud to be a part of the movement to ensure the success of Northeast Ohio in the new broadband economy," said Scot Rourke, OneCommunity's president and CEO.  "We will continue our work with corporate, civic and government leaders to revitalize our region's economy, enhance service delivery in our school and hospital systems, and expand our digital infrastructure and applications." 

About OneCommunity
OneCommunity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering economic development and improving the quality of life by leveraging information technologies. OneCommunity connects hundreds of public and nonprofit institutions to each other, to the world, and to leading technology vendors via its fiber-optic broadband network - one of the largest and fastest in the world.  Leveraging the network, OneCommunity supports 21st-century programs in health care, education, government and workforce development.  OneCommunity enables innovative connections and collaborative solutions, and transforms communities by enhancing their ability to compete in the global economy.

About the Intelligent Community Forum
ICF is a nonprofit think tank that focuses on the creation of prosperous local economies in the "broadband economy" of the 21st century.  ICF conducts research, hosts events, publishes newsletters and presents awards to help communities understand both the opportunities and challenges, and to promote best practices in economic and social development.

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