Being named the most intelligent community from the ICF is a big deal. I know Dakota County (Minnesota) is working on applying for the honor. I’d love to see more Minnesota communities throw a hat in the ring.

This year they are letting the general public vote. OK your vote doesn’t count – but I still think it’s a great chance to check out what the leaders (in the world!) are doing to spur some ideas for your own community. Again my hope is that we get it in gear to have the ICF traveling all over Minnesota to check out the world leaders next year or the year after.

Here’s the invitation to vote from the ICF:

On 15 May at 2:45 PM (ET), the Intelligent Community Forum will announce its 2009 Intelligent Community of the Year. Selection of the Intelligent Community of the Year is based on analysis by a research organization and a review by a jury of 70 experts from around the world. The Intelligent Community of the Year will be named from among these Top Seven Intelligent Communities:
• Bristol, Virginia, USA
• Eindhoven, Netherlands
• Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
• Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
• Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Tallinn, Estonia

This year, for the first time, we want to give you a chance to record your vote on which community you think deserves to be the Intelligent Community of the Year. While your vote will not count in the final assessment, we want to know how the general public ranks our Top Seven.

Click here to read brief summaries of the seven communities and then cast your vote for the Intelligent Community of the Year. [Ann’s note – link to summaries didn’t work; here’s a link to the big white paper.] There is no cost or obligation. Then join us at http://www.icfsummit.com on May 15 at 2:00 pm Eastern Standard Time for live Web coverage of the Award ceremony, where ICF will announce its choice. Will the popular vote match the opinions of the researchers and experts? Join us on May 15 and find out!