In 2019, the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) commissioned Itad and Steward Redqueen to independently evaluate British International Investment’s (BII’s) infrastructure portfolio.
The purpose of the evaluation was to better understand the development outcomes and impacts associated with BII’s investments in the infrastructure sector.
The assignment consisted of two phases, namely an evidence and portfolio-level review (Phase 1), published in 2022, and a subsequent series of in-depth case studies (Phase 2).
This in-depth study has two purposes. First, it aims to develop an evidence-based understanding of the impact generated as a result of new or improved access to electricity for communities connected to the Virunga Energies (VE) hydroelectric grid. This is to support the aims of the wider evaluation of the infrastructure portfolio, to understand where BII is generating most impact. Second, it aims to develop and test a cost-effective, replicable and scalable approach to evaluation using satellite data and machine learning techniques, which BII can use in ongoing or future investments.
The study focuses on BII’s 2016 investment in VE, which in 2017 began constructing a new hydroelectric mini-grid and since then has been expanding access to electricity.
The report outlines the study context, evaluation approach, methodology and lessons learned in the application of the geospatial impact evaluation approach. It also presents evidence of impact for two groups of settlements that have been connected to the new VE hydroelectric mini-grid.
