The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Global Development Assistance (GDA) programme aims to integrate satellite Earth Observation (EO) into everyday decision-making processes and practices of International Financial Institutions’ (IFIs) development operations. In September 2025, the GDA Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) activity launched the new GDA Impact Dashboard, which brings together data and context on how EO is being adopted across development operations, highlighting progress, trends and other details of the GDA engagement with its institutional partners.
Strengthening programme monitoring by moving to online, interactive tools with regular updates
In the management of large programmes, results often remain locked in static reports that are slow to update, difficult to explore, and quickly outdated. The updated GDA Impact Dashboard tackles this problem by bringing together GDA’s programmatic results data in an automatically updated, interactive platform that reflects progress as it happens. To enable this level of agility, the GDA M&E lead – Caribou – restructured and strengthened the data-collection processes that feed the Dashboard, ensuring that information flows regularly and consistently across the programme. This approach turns monitoring data into a living resource that supports strategic decisions, helping ESA and its partners track progress, spot emerging trends, and refine priorities as the programme evolves.
In September 2025, Caribou launched the updated GDA Impact Dashboard, as part of the GDA Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) activity. The dashboard translates GDA’s measurement system into an interactive platform designed for open, online exploration. Readers can move through thematic areas e.g. Agriculture, partner International Financial Institutions (IFIs), IFI project cycle stages, countries, and, new in this release, EO Capabilities, gaining a dynamic, up-to-date view of how GDA facilitates the adoption of satellite Earth Observation (EO) to support development planning and delivery
The Dashboard reveals GDA’s cross-cutting, global reach
The Dashboard compiles data from different GDA consortia and automatically updates when any consortium member reports progress. As of November 2025, it shows 130 Case Studies completed or in progress. These Case Studies support 128 IFI projects with 96 EO Capabilities across various thematic areas.
GDA activities are carried out in 88 low and middle income countries (LMICs) representing more than 65% of LMICs. The portfolio is geographically well distributed. Kenya and Bangladesh are the countries with the most Case Studies, seven each, followed by Kenya, with six Case Studies and Pakistan and Indonesia with five each. Different patterns, such as the Asian Development Bank’s focus on Asia, appear when users filter the Dashboard by IFI, reflecting some institutions’ regional focus. The overall geographic distribution reflects where demand has emerged and where EO uptake is most feasible, as well as the widespread geographical coverage of the IFIs engaged .
GDA is shifting the use of EO earlier in IFI project cycles
The Dashboard enables users to filter data by IFI project cycle stage, such as preparation, implementation, and evaluation. This reveals when and how EO is being used within development operations, and informs how GDA engages with different teams. For the World Bank, for example, most Case Studies currently support the implementation phase of projects. In contrast, for the ADB, GDA support is more prevalent during the identification phase.
Over the past few years, the programme has intentionally sought to become involved earlier in the project cycle to inform the design of new lending operations and investmen programmes, and strengthen the case for later integration of EO into financial instruments and sustainable adoption in client countries.
In some thematic areas, such as Disaster Resilience, Agriculture, Transport and Infrastructure, Urban Sustainability, and Water Resources, the Case Studies recorded in the Dashboard currently relate more often to the implementation phase of IFI projects. In others, including Climate Resilience, Marine, Clean Energy, and Fragility, Conflict & Security, GDA’s support has been connected more frequently to identification or preparation phases, where early analyses or feasibility work took place. These patterns illustrate the nature of the specific engagements that were pursued, not broader institutional practice. Future updates may shift these patterns as new engagements emerge and more Case Studies progress through the project cycle.
EO capabilities are aligning with IFI priorities
The Dashboard shows which EO Capabilities are used most frequently in GDA case study engagements with IFIs. Certain cross-cutting EO Capabilities appear repeatedly across different thematic areas. Some provide baseline data, for example, on land use and land cover or elevation data, which consortia then combine with other inputs to produce more specific analyses. Others focus on risk and resource management, monitoring floods or water conditions, or mapping population exposure and urban growth.
When users filter the Dashboard by IFI, clear distinctions emerge. World Bank activities reveal a diverse range of environmental and people-centred analyses, whereas ADB activities demonstrate a stronger focus on urban and infrastructure-related EO applications, in line with its operational priorities in the region.
This initial analysis provides a clearer picture of how EO complements and feeds into IFI operations. The Dashboard shows where EO capabilities align with institutional priorities, for example, matching the strong interest in flood analysis within disaster risk management. As the M&E dataset grows, it will highlight where specific EO Capabilities are linked to continued or follow-up IFI investments.
New and up next: improved usability, readability and a stronger focus on IFIs
The September 2025 update prioritised improving usability and readability. Users can now navigate between IFIs, countries, thematic areas and EO Capabilities more easily. The underlying data model has been refined to ensure consistent information is presented by filters and figures. The next phase of development will introduce a stronger focus on IFIs. The GDA M&E team is currently working on compiling a database, capturing where IFIs allocate their own financing or technical assistance following EO-supported activities.
The team will create separate dashboard pages for the World Bank and the ADB, as well as a consolidated view for other IFIs. Each will present indicators specific to the relevant institution, showing how Earth Observation has informed its operations, the levels of financing connected to these activities and the types of resources aligned.
Tracking progress in real time: a new direction for EO mainstreaming
The GDA Impact Dashboard addresses a longstanding challenge in measurement: making timely, accessible data on progress and trends available to those who need it. It answers a key question for the programme: where and how is Earth Observation being adopted and mainstreamed into development operations?
The dashboard supports Caribou’s broader advisory to GDA, surfacing patterns that inform the programme’s direction and further impact pathway. As the dataset grows, it will reveal where EO capabilities align with IFI priorities and where new opportunities emerge.
Looking ahead, Caribou sees online, interactive, regularly updated dashboards as a cornerstone of resilient measurement systems, enabling continuous monitoring, learning, and strategic adjustments within GDA. This approach strengthens ESA’s capacity to track progress, demonstrating how accessible and actionable data can transform monitoring into smarter and more responsive development operations. It paves the way for a future where decisions are data-informed.
