Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation
BIO's Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation framework (AME) establishes development objectives and monitors projects throughout their entire lifecycle, both at the individual project level and within the broader portfolio.
- Ex ante assessment – BIO developed a new tool to assess ex ante the alignment with the new Strategic Impact Targets. This tool is complementary to the more general development assessment tool (also being updated in 2025). As part of the due diligence, those tools allow structuring and documenting the development rationale of an investment project, and its financial and non-financial additionality.
- Monitoring – BIO is performing a yearly monitoring of key development metrics (pre-defined to reflect the envisaged development goals) for all portfolio projects and uses the Joint Impact Model (JIM) to assess indirect development effects.
- Evaluation – BIO has updated its evaluation plan, covering both the strategic level and individual projects.
While there is some interdependence between these, each element follows its own procedure and addresses specific needs at different stages of the investment process.
Key impact results from the JIM
Using input data such as revenue and power production from portfolio investments, the Joint Impact Model enables to estimate financial flows through the economy and its resulting economic (value added), social (employment), and environmental (greenhouse gas emissions) impact. These estimates can be used to measure and report on the contribution of individual institutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
The JIM is characterised by its harmonised and transparent methodology and assumptions, public availability, collaborative nature, up-to-date macroeconomic statistics, security features, and user operated style.
BIO uses JIM to estimate indirect development impacts of its portfolio companies (impacts along the company’s value chain and induced impacts, i.e., impacts associated with the spending of wages earned by employees of the company), and the financial and power enabling impact of the financial intermediaries and the infrastructure projects BIO invests in.
Direct impact (2023)
Indirect impact (2023)
New evaluation plan
In line with the new 2024–2028 management contract, BIO has updated its evaluation plan to reflect its renewed commitment to measuring development impact and sustainability—both at the strategic level and within individual projects. The plan was developed in close collaboration with the Special Evaluation Service of the Belgian Development Cooperation (DBE) and the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD).
The evaluation plan is built around four complementary tools.
Internal
- Annual strategic impact reports
Yearly evaluations at the portfolio level to track BIO’s impact performance against its strategic goals. These reports are based on the assessment of Strategic Impact Targets (SITs), the monitoring of development indicators, and insights from the economic model. - Project Completion Reports
End-of-project evaluations that bring together follow-up data, internal reporting, and stakeholder feedback to assess the project's financial, commercial, social, environmental, and development outcomes.
External
- Multi-year Strategic Impact Studies
Independent, portfolio-level evaluations of new projects to assess BIO’s performance against its Theory of Change and Strategic Impact Framework. See also: Decent Work Study and Non-Financial Additionality Study - Biannual End-Beneficiary Focus Studies
On-the-ground evaluations that explore the profiles and experiences of end-beneficiaries in selected projects, providing deeper insights into the real-world impact of BIO’s support.
BIO engages with (prospective) clients to enhance their E&S performance, with its E&S team offering advice, appropriate tools, and assistance in developing E&S action plans.
In line with its commitment to environmental and social management, BIO requires that an environmental and social action plan (ESAP) is part of all its investment contracts. Almost all relate to E&S risk management and more than half include actions to address labour conditions. For high-risk projects, on-site visits are conducted by BIO or external experts to verify reporting and conduct independent assessments. Annual progress reports on the ESAPs are submitted by clients, showing the extent to which they remain on track.
ESAP implementation progress
Out of the 67 active projects signed after 2018 and actively monitored by BIO’s E&S team, 63 have an E&S action plan. The majority has already been implemented and completed or is on the right track to do so, whereas for 30% of the action plans, implementation has been delayed.
If insufficient progress is noted, BIO talks to its clients to identify the challenge, and to see how they can catch up on the ESAP's execution.
BIO is committed to supporting its clients’ E&S capacity and competences, providing assistance through the BDSF or by offering guidance and training sessions led by BIO staff. Companies posing a higher reputational risk or companies in non-compliance with essential actions outlined in their ESAP are placed on an E&S watchlist, prompting intensified monitoring by BIO's E&S team. At the end of 2024 four projects were on this list, out of a total portfolio of 154. Main E&S issues were linked to management of extreme weather events, of health and safety measures and of relations with local communities.