Chaordix Partners with DAI to Implement USAID's Grand Challenges for Development

LONDON, NEW YORK, BOSTON, and CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Chaordix™, the global standard in crowdsourced market intelligence, has been selected to provide program expertise and collaboration technology to support community engagement in the Grand Challenges for Development program offered by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Implemented with support from Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), the program is part of an ongoing effort by USAID and partners to catalyze a broad range of actors to make significant and measurable progress against specific development challenges that people face around the world. Chaordix will support USAID in harnessing the intelligence of the global crowd to collectively solve these problems.

The Grand Challenges for Development program is designed to define solvable international development problems and (through multifaceted public engagement, partnerships, and open innovation processes) produce transformational, globally scalable, and sustainable change. The first two Grand Challenges are "All Children Reading" and "Saving Lives at Birth" and, along with USAID, are supported by founding partners including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, The World Bank, World Vision, AusAID and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. DAI will collaborate with Chaordix in helping USAID define and engage the public in future Grand Challenges for Development. They will also work with USAID's Office of Science and Technology to launch new incentive models, such as prizes, to find nontraditional approaches to problem solving.

"Crowdsourcing provides perhaps one of the best opportunities to tackle many of the world's most daunting development challenges," said Shelley Kuipers, CEO of Chaordix. "By being able to harness the collective wisdom, creativity, and collaboration of people around the world to address these issues, we can transcend the capabilities of any one person or group. I don't know of a more inspiring application of our expertise and technology, and we are delighted to be a part of this program."

The Chaordix Crowd Intelligence™ process unites a unique methodology and expert services with an advanced and customizable technology platform to distil the opinions and ideas of program participants into actionable insights and solutions.

"Innovation is the lifeblood of effective development. Science and technology are an increasingly powerful catalyst for that innovation," said DAI Project Director Kristi Ragan. "We are delighted to partner with Chaordix on this exciting initiative to source development solutions that make a difference."

About Chaordix

Chaordix is the global standard in crowdsourced market intelligence. Chaordix uses the power of crowdsourcing to help the world's leading companies and organizations gain business insight and competitive advantage. Our Crowd Intelligence™ community solutions are helping clients such as E.ON, IBM, The Government of Ireland, Orange, P&G, and PwC leverage our unique crowdsourcing techniques and technology to drive market research, brand loyalty and innovation. Visit http://www.chaordix.com to find out more.

About DAI

DAI is a global consulting firm that provides social and economic development solutions to business, government, and civil society in developing and transitioning countries. Visit http://www.dai.com to find out more.

For further information, please contact Cynthia van Sundert at +1 403-263-2655, [email protected].

Chaordix and Crowd Intelligence are trademarks of Chaordix Inc.

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SOURCE Chaordix