Chemonics Expands Innovative Partnership with OnFrontiers

The expanded partnership enhances Chemonics' use of data and technology to drive positive change around the world

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Oct 19, 2021, 11:04 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemonics International announced today its plans to place development priorities squarely in the hands of the professionals in the more than 85 countries in which it operates. The plan centers on its expanded partnership with OnFrontiers, a tech start-up company that builds knowledge networks using a technology platform to source and connect experts for greater collaboration and impact.

"Rather than focusing on solutions first, we believe in engaging and listening to the people and experts in the communities where we work, asking the right questions, and collaborating to find the best approaches. As we engage in this mission-centric work, we need the ability to find and connect with the right experts in our global network to solve our most pressing local challenges." Chemonics President and CEO James Butcher said.

OnFrontiers provides a platform for building and managing an organization's proprietary network of employees and consultants and getting introductions to experts outside of an organization to fill knowledge gaps, all through one user-friendly experience. Unlike social networks, OnFrontiers makes connections based on "what you know" versus "who you know," and builds intellectual capital for the enterprise.

Working through the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need within Chemonics to leverage a bridge-building tool to foster virtual collaboration beyond an employee's immediate team, work group, or professional network.

In this expanded partnership, Chemonics will help co-design and serve as an early adopter for two of OnFrontiers' major product expansions: one focused on harnessing individual internal and external expertise and connections, and the other on connecting small locally based partner expertise to address development challenges. The goal is for these new products to be available for other peer organizations in the international development industry and other industries who are seeking better ways to harness their expertise. OnFrontiers will launch new plans into the market based on the new functionality in 2022.

"These new technologies will fill a double need we have to manage our existing talent and recruit bright new experts and locally based partner organizations into development projects who are focused on making the world better," said Butcher. "Our greatest assets are our people and network of local partners working to solve the intractable development challenges we face around the world. This is our opportunity to build and invest in solutions we believe in."

"This partnership with Chemonics is a huge boost for our customers, experts, and mission. Our customers get an increasingly mature and powerful product. Our experts get more opportunities to engage with our expanding user base of expert-seekers. We as a team are able to support a mission-aligned partner and move further towards our goal of making every organization smarter on-demand," said OnFrontiers CEO Brian Caouette.

About Chemonics: From our founding in 1975, Chemonics has worked in more than 150 countries to help its clients, partners, and beneficiaries tackle the world's toughest development challenges. We work alongside key stakeholders to help build reliable supply chains using data and end-to-end visibility, applying innovative techniques and technologies to expand our global supply chains' reach to the farthest corners of the world to ensure sustainable systems that improve lives worldwide.

About OnFrontiers: Founded by Anne Kroijer and Brian Caouette, OnFrontiers makes organizations smarter, on-demand. The OnFrontiers platform and set of applications fundamentally change how organizations tap into and utilize their most valuable resource: knowledge. We are building an entirely new technology category to unlock the expertise stuck within organizations and source experts beyond it. We call it The Enterprise Knowledge Network. Innovative, forward-focused organizations use OnFrontiers' network-building approach to access, harness, and distribute knowledge and reach their potential.

SOURCE Chemonics International