WASHINGTON, April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Devex, the world's leading online community for more than half a million aid workers and international development professionals, announced today the foundations, NGOs, and aid agencies selected as the Devex Top 40 Development Innovators. The list of innovators was unveiled on the Devex Facebook page at www.facebook.com/devex.

The Devex Top 40 Development Innovators were chosen based on a poll of more than 2,000 aid workers who participated in a Devex survey last month.

"To reach the Millennium Development Goals, we can't be satisfied with doing things the way they used to be done," said Raj Kumar, President of Devex. "The mobile phone alone gives us the opportunity to reinvent the way education and health services are provided, especially in the most challenging environments like Haiti. The organizations we are honoring as Development Innovators are those leading the way to a better world through innovation."

The Top 40 Development Innovators list includes the leading organizations in four types of international development organizations: donor agencies & foundations, development consulting companies, implementing NGOs, and advocacy groups.  To ensure that survey respondents would be familiar with them, only the largest international development organizations were included in the survey.

Among the Top 40 Development Innovators are BRAC, William J. Clinton Foundation, DFID, GIZ, and Oxfam.

Devex is hosting a high-level forum to honor the Top 40 Development Innovators in Washington, DC on April 21.  Chris S. Thomas, Chief Strategist with Intel and Sonal Shah, the White House Director of Social Innovation are featured speakers at the event.  Devex is also hosting a global Twitter chat to discuss development innovation on April 21 from 5:00pm-7:00pm with hashtag #innov8dev.   

About Devex

More than 500,000 aid workers and development professionals turn to Devex for international development business, careers, and news. 

Our online platform – utilized by nearly every major development institution in the world – is helping to create efficiency through an open marketplace for projects, talent, and ideas.  Our motto is "Do Good. Do It Well." because we support the mission of global development professionals, corporations, NGOs, and donor agencies around the world.  Join us at devex.com.

Media Contact:
Pauline Zalkin
202.709.6494
pauline.zalkin@devex.com

SOURCE Devex