For the third time in the past five years, Winnipeg has been named one of the world's top seven intelligent communities.

The International Community Forum has named their top seven intelligent communities for 2018 and Winnipeg has made the list, joining cities in Taiwan, Finland, and Australia.

"It gives you some bragging rights," said Greg Dandewich of Economic Development Winnipeg.

Winnipeg also made the list last year and in 2014.

The award looks at communities accomplishments in developing a prosperous city while using information and communications technology. The focus of this year's contest was Humanizing Data.

"For a number of years, (we've been) collecting data on a number of different fronts," explains Dandewich. "It's somewhat confusing for folks because it's collecting data but no one knows how to effectively use that data."

Humanizing data is about taking that data and turning it into something useful, Dandewich explains. It is something that Winnipeg is very good at. Dandewich pointed to a company like SkipTheDishes, which uses data and has turned that into a successful business.

That wasn't the only reason Winnipeg was named, Dandewich said, saying that it about "what we did through a variety of different areas."

Dandewich says that the ranking is very beneficial for Winnipeg. Companies like Economic Development Winnipeg will use this to raise awareness of Manitoba's capital for both tourists and companies.