ICF evaluation visit

Dundee's bid to be named intelligent community of the year will come under the microscope today.

Robert Bell, executive director of the Intelligent Communities Forum, the influential US-based think tank behind the award, will be in the city for two days.

The not for profit forum has pitted Dundee against two conurbations in the USA and one each from Canada, South Korea, Estonia and the Netherlands after narrowing down the search to a Smart 21, before selecting the final seven.

Dundee did not enter the competition last year because many of the projects that helped the city become one of the world's seven most intelligent communities two years in a row needed time to develop and produce the expected positive results.

Mr Bell will be looking at how Dundee has used technology to improve the quality of life and sense of community of its citizens and comparing that with the results from the other finalists.

Dundee City Council and its partners in education and industry believe that Mr Bell will see for himself compelling evidence that the city's educational institutions and infrastructure are equipping young people for careers in the new knowledge based economy.

During his stay Mr Bell will meet business leaders in the life sciences and computer games industries, top academics from both of the city's universities, councillors and chief officers of Dundee City Council.

Among the highlights he will be shown to reinforce Dundee's bid will be the contribution of the Fibrecity project which aims to make Dundee the first city to offer next generation 100mb broadband to tenants in all of its social housing by 2012, as well as facilities at Morgan Academy and an insight into both the Dare to be Digital and Dare Schools competitions.

While with the ICF, Mr. Bell has led economic development missions to cities in Asia and the US; written articles in professional journals and appeared on ABC World News and The Discovery Channel. 

Last year Sweden's capital Stockholm was top of a list of role models for the world's cities to aspire to.

This year's winner will be announced by the ICF at a ceremony in New York in May.

photo show (from left Dr Henry Fortuna, Univ of Abertay; Robert Bell, ICF and Prof Paul Harris, Univ of Abertay

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