GRA · Development Finance Nexus
Spatial financeWhere capital meets hazard, exposure and transition
Handoffs and authority
Evidence prepared on this platform is useful only if its handoff is clear: who receives it, under which mandate, what independent diligence remains, and what the evidence cannot support. In development finance, approval rests with boards, credit and investment committees and ministers, after diligence by their own staff and appointed advisers. This page sets out how handoffs work, where authority sits, and how labels and limitations travel with the evidence.
Handoffs and authority on the record.
Handoffs and authority: how the risk develops.
Receivers, independent diligence and limitations. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.
Authority is layered
A project passes ministry clearance, parliamentary authorisation for borrowing where the law requires it, lender management review, credit or investment committee and board approval. Each layer holds a distinct decision.
Diligence is independent by design
Lenders appoint their own technical, legal, insurance and environmental and social advisers, whose reports are addressed to the lenders. Evidence prepared elsewhere is an input to that diligence, never a substitute.
Labels must survive summary
When evidence is condensed into a board paper or an information memorandum, the labels that mark values as estimated, modelled or declared are easily lost. A claim stripped of its label reads as fact.
Limitations travel with the evidence
Every dataset and model has a scope, a date and known gaps. If limitations are not handed on, a decision can rest on evidence beyond what it is able to support.
People and exposure in Southern Africa.
Population density and night lights over Southern Africa, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 2
People and exposure, for this page
Keyboard, with the map focused
Hold Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom
Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
Loading the latest NASA imagery.
Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.
People and exposure, framed on Southern Africa.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · CIESIN/Columbia, NASA SEDAC HBASE · U.S. Geological SurveySources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
- VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- OMI nitrogen dioxide (Aura) and OMPS aerosol index (Suomi NPP), NASA; distributed by the NASA GES DISC; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Context: CIESIN/Columbia, NASA SEDAC HBASE. Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University, and NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC): Global Human Built-up And Settlement Extent (HBASE) 2010; Seto, Guneralp and Hutyra 2012, Global Grid of Probabilities of Urban Expansion to 2030; Global Urban Heat Island (UHI) Data Set, 2013.
- Live: U.S. Geological Survey Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- Air quality forecast, 5 days, PM2.5 (CAMS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information 2026.
- Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Optional layers (9 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
- Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
- Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
- Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
- True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
- Nitrogen dioxide, lower atmosphere column: OMI Aura, NASA GES DISC · 10 Oct 2026
What is measured, and how well.
Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.
| Indicator | Unit | Cadence | Source type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence items carrying an evidence label at handoff | percent of items in the dossier | per dossier | Dossier register | DECLARED |
| Age of the latest data in each evidence item | months | per dossier | Source metadata | REPORTED |
| Open diligence questions at handoff | count | per dossier | Dossier question register | DECLARED |
| Limitations stated per evidence item | count | per dossier | Dossier register | DECLARED |
| Time from handoff to acknowledgement by the receiver | days | per dossier | Handoff log | OBSERVED |
| Disclosure status of project documents | status (disclosed, pending, exempt) | per document | MDB disclosure portals | Published statistics |
Project pipeline and safeguards.
The screen a team would use to follow this subject: its measures, states and decisions. Names are examples and values are illustrative.
Project pipeline and safeguards
Handoffs and authority · Country programme D · Pipeline review 1
Pipeline
| Irrigation rehabilitation | Food and water | Medium | Clear | Appraisal |
| Port expansion | Infrastructure | High | Finding | Preparation |
| SME credit line | Finance | Low | Clear | Board |
| Mini-grid programme | Energy | Low | Clear | Implementation |
Handoff
- Readiness dossier
- v3, reviewed
- Receiving institution
- development finance institution
- Decision
- theirs, not GRA's
- Record
- HO-054
Projects and hazard
red: high hazard exposure
Where the evidence comes from.
Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.
| Source | What it gives | Licence class |
|---|---|---|
| MDB access to information policies and disclosure portals | Rules and records on what project and board documents are disclosed and when | Public, terms per institution |
| Equator Principles (EP4) independent review requirements | When independent environmental and social review is required and what it covers | Public, Equator Principles Association terms |
| IATI Standard | Data fields for activities, documents, conditions and results | Open standard, free to use |
| Open Contracting Data Standard | Data fields for planning, tender, award, contract and implementation | Open standard, free to use |
| National PPP unit registers and disclosure frameworks | Approval records, contracts and fiscal commitments of partnerships | Public records, terms per government |
| Board and committee documents where disclosed | Decisions, conditions and management responses | Public under each institution's policy |
Trace a shock in handoffs and authority to the balance sheet.
Assembled from the Nexus Standards area profile Disaster and climate risk finance: the shocks it names, the systems and sectors that carry the loss, the controls that dampen it and the data that observe it. Pick an initiating shock and step through the cascade to see which exposures it reaches and where losses could concentrate. The Map view places the run on an example geography with open data. Every weight is a stated assumption. An exercise, not a forecast, a valuation, a rating or investment advice. To model a place of your own choosing, open the full System Builder.
Hazards
- Tropical cyclone
- Earthquake
- Ice-jam flood
- Storm surge (set off downstream)
- Intense rainfall (set off downstream)
- River flood (set off downstream)
- Flash flood (set off downstream)
- Dangerous surf (set off downstream)
- Widespread power outage (set off downstream)
- Mass displacement (set off downstream)
- Coastal flood (set off downstream)
- Aftershock sequence (set off downstream)
- Fault surface rupture (set off downstream)
- Soil liquefaction (set off downstream)
- Slope slide (set off downstream)
- Rockfall (set off downstream)
- Tsunami (set off downstream)
- Building collapse (set off downstream)
Systems and couplings
Controls
NS-0Constitution and principlesNS-3Risk record UNIs (grammar, legacy crosswalk, allocation authority)NS-9Contextual UNIs (deployments, instances, programme instances)NS-10Policies and clauses (machine-readable obligations: definition, binding, evaluation and enforcement)NS-11Verification and monitoring (evidence, attestations, zero-trust conformance observation)NS-14Conformance and crosswalk to external standardsNRS-F8Parametric and index-based risk transferNRS-F7Disaster risk finance and pre-arranged financeNRS-H113Hazard family: Financial-system fragility (NHS-1 soc.financial-system)NRS-H114Hazard family: Macroeconomic and fiscal shocks (NHS-1 soc.macro-fiscal)NRS-D1Risk-informed development and project screeningNRS-H28Hazard family: Climate-state shifts (NHS-1 eco.climate-state)
Observation
- ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Data Store) (listed for reference)
- CHIRPS quasi-global gridded precipitation (listed for reference)
- USGS earthquake GeoJSON summary feeds (listed for reference)
- Total public international support for national disaster risk reduction actions (Sendai indicator F-1)
- Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global GDP
Example geography
- Western Europe: 152 hexagonal cells
- Rain rate, last half hour (IMERG), NASA GIBS
- Night lights tonight, outages (VIIRS Day/Night Band), NASA GIBS
- Surface water through cloud, 30 m (OPERA DSWx-S1 radar), NASA GIBS
- Surface soil moisture (SMAP), NASA GIBS
Who decides, and what the evidence serves.
Development Finance Nexus prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.
| Who decides | The question | Evidence this page serves |
|---|---|---|
| MDB boards of executive directors | Whether to approve an operation on the terms presented by management | Management's assessment and its evidence, with labels and limitations visible |
| DFI credit and investment committees | Whether to commit capital and under which conditions precedent | Independent adviser reports, open diligence questions, labelled evidence |
| Finance ministers and debt management offices | Whether to authorise borrowing or a guarantee | Debt and fiscal risk evidence, approval history, disclosure status |
| Guarantors and political risk insurers | Whether to underwrite and how much cover to provide | Contract structure, country and counterparty evidence, independent reviews |
Outputs this topic produces
- Handoff records naming the receiver, the mandate and the open diligence questions
- Evidence dossiers with labels, dates and limitations kept on every item
- Maps of approval layers for common financing structures
- Checklists for preserving labels when evidence is summarised
What handoffs and authority means for exposure, loss and capital.
The exposure, loss, scenario and capital views a risk officer, supervisor or ministry of finance would ask for, with the frameworks they report against. Structures follow supervisory and actuarial practice. Values are illustrative: never prices, ratings or advice.
Transmission channels
How a shock in handoffs and authority reaches credit, market, underwriting, liquidity and operational risk, and feeds back.
What the industry asks.
Shared evidence can save time and cost, but it can also create false confidence if receivers treat it as a substitute for their own diligence or as an endorsement. Clear handoff rules protect programme owners, receivers and the integrity of the evidence: who may see a file, on whose instruction, for what purpose, and what the receiver must still verify.
- Who owns the evidence, and who may direct its release?
- What must a receiver verify independently under its own policies before relying on the evidence?
- How are conflicts of interest prevented when evidence passes between parties?
- How are competition safeguards maintained when several institutions consider the same programme?
How risk and finance interact.
Handoffs depend on ownership, independence and clear limits.
Owner's instruction
A readiness file is released only at the programme owner's written direction, to a party the owner chooses.
Receiver diligence
Each receiver carries out its own diligence, appraisal and approval under its own rules. Shared evidence informs but does not replace it.
No intermediation
The Global Risks Alliance (GRA) does not introduce counterparties, negotiate terms or take any fee tied to a transaction.
The design follows a simple principle: evidence moves, authority does not. A readiness file can travel from a country to a lender, but the decision to lend stays with the lender, the decision to borrow stays with the country and the decision to approve stays with whoever is legally responsible. GRA's role ends where evidence has been made understandable.
How the evidence is built, and its limits.
- 01
Release records
Each release is recorded with the owner's instruction, the receiver and the purpose.
- 02
Evidence labels
Claims carry labels such as Observed, Estimated, Modelled or Expert judgement, so receivers know what they are relying on.
- 03
Conflict declarations
People involved declare interests before handling a file.
- 04
Competition safeguards
Aggregated data only, no discussion of pricing or terms, as designed in the written competition policy. See competition and antitrust.
How it is studied, and what the methods cannot say.
- 01Decision analysis under uncertaintyRobust choice of design standard · Multi-criteria pipeline screeningApplied here
- 02Economics and development economicsEconomic appraisal of a project · Debt sustainability context · Tariff and subsidy incidenceApplied here
- 03Causal inference and impact evaluationEvaluating a credit line or guarantee · Infrastructure impact on householdsApplied here
Questions and answers.
Does Development Finance Nexus approve or certify projects?
Who carries out due diligence?
Why keep labels when summarising?
Can GRA send a readiness file to lenders on a programme's behalf?
Can a receiver rely on a readiness file without its own diligence?
Does GRA negotiate terms?
What if a receiver misuses evidence?
Contribute evidence from this page.
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