Geospatial Impact Evaluation in Practice: Foundations, Methods, and Applications

Governments and institutions invest billions annually to reduce poverty and protect ecosystems, yet conventional evaluations rely on costly, limited surveys that provide only snapshots of change. This book introduces Geospatial Impact Evaluation (GIE), an interdisciplinary framework integrating Earth Observation (EO), remote sensing, GIS, and causal inference to generate spatially explicit, policy-relevant evidence. Enabled by satellite imagery, cloud computing, and AI, GIE expands impact evaluation across space and time, especially in data-scarce settings. This practice-oriented book bridges geospatial science, development economics, and impact evaluation through conceptual foundations, reproducible workflows, real-world datasets, and case studies--helping readers move beyond descriptive mapping toward causally credible evidence for better development decisions. No prior remote sensing or programming expertise required.

Features

Combines satellite data, spatial analysis, and rigorous methods into a unified evaluation framework. Offers step-by-step workflows with real-world datasets using widely adopted software. Covers diverse sectors: agriculture, natural resources, climate adaptation, infrastructure, and public health. Examines how emerging technologies and geospatial foundation models are transforming evaluation practice Features hands-on exercises and adaptable tools for researchers, educators, and practitioners.

An essential resource for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, educators, and students, this book equips readers to generate spatially explicit, causally credible evidence that strengthens development decision-making and maximizes the impact of investments for people and the planet.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 103277715X
• ISBN13: 9781032777153
• Release Date: December 2026
• Publisher: CRC Press
• Length: 944 Pages