Skip to content

GCRI · How Nexus Consortium works

Global programme

The global programme is the layer the Consortium Secretariat coordinates: shared research priorities, common methods, the annual cycle, learning across countries and publication. The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI) runs it through GCRI Canada, with The Global Risks Forum (GRF) and The Global Risks Alliance (GRA). It never sets a national agenda. It makes national work comparable. Part of How Nexus Consortium works.

Make an enquiry Back to How Nexus Consortium works
01Register

Global programme on the record.

The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation
  1. 01InstitutionThe Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
  2. 02AgendaHow the annual agenda is formed
  3. 03PrioritiesCriteria for choosing what to work on
  4. 04Shared methodsCommon ground that makes countries comparable
  5. 05Lawful cooperationFederation without loss of control
02Agenda

How the annual agenda is formed.

  1. 01

    National questions

    National Desks collect material questions, capability gaps and candidate missions.

  2. 02

    Regional dependencies

    Regional coordination identifies shared basins, grids, health systems, ports, corridors and digital links. See Six programme regions.

  3. 03

    Evidence review

    GCRI’s evidence process classifies what is observed, unknown, modelled and worth testing.

  4. 04

    Participation and readiness

    GRF tests inclusion and public-purpose legitimacy; GRA identifies financial transmission and diligence needs without selecting investments.

  5. 05

    Mandate

    An authorised annual mandate sets scope, budget, participating structures, evaluation questions and publication intentions. National structures may decline participation or data sharing.

03Geography

Hazards and exposure worldwide.

Flood water, population density and active fires across the world, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 3

Hazards and exposure, for this page

About this layer
Evidence
Observed (clouds leave gaps)
Source
VIIRS Global Flood Product (NASA LANCE)
Provider
NASA LANCE
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Satellite detection; clouds leave gaps
Newest at build
2026-10-14
Resolution
about 250 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite detection; clouds leave gaps. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Estimated
Source
Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University))
Provider
NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University)
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Vintage
null; Census-based estimate, static (2020)
Resolution
about 1 km grid
Uncertainty
Census-based estimate of people per square kilometre in 2020, shown as exposure context; not a count of people affected by any hazard.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Observed (clouds and overpass timing leave gaps)
Source
VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS) (NASA LANCE FIRMS)
Provider
NASA LANCE FIRMS
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Satellite detection; clouds and overpass timing leave gaps
Newest at build
2026-10-13
Resolution
about 500 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite hot-spot detections for the day shown, including gas flares and industrial heat; not a confirmed fire, an incident report or a warning.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Observed (persistent cloud still leaves gaps)
Source
VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day (NASA LANCE)
Provider
NASA LANCE
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
8-day; Satellite 8-day composite; persistent cloud still leaves gaps
Newest at build
2026-09-14
Resolution
about 1 km grid
Uncertainty
Satellite skin temperature of the ground over the 8 days ending on the date shown, a heat exposure indicator; not air temperature, heat index or a heat warning.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Observed
Source
VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance (NASA LANCE)
Provider
NASA LANCE
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Satellite image
Newest at build
2026-10-14
Resolution
about 250 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite image. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Modelled (latest year GIBS publishes)
Source
MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1) (NASA LP DAAC)
Provider
NASA LP DAAC
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
yearly; Satellite classification; latest year GIBS publishes
Newest at build
2024-01-01
Resolution
about 500 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite land cover classes for the year shown, including croplands; a classification with known errors, not a farm register.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map

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.

Hazards and exposure, framed on the world.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 · U.S. Geological Survey · NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERTSources 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; 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.
  • Live: U.S. Geological Survey Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
  • Observed (EO): NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERT (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). 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).
  • 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).
  • River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information 2026; not a flood warning.
  • 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 (11 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

  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
  • Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024

04Priorities

Criteria for choosing what to work on.

A candidate question enters the annual mandate only when it scores well across all of these criteria. A question without a competent recipient, an institution able to act on the answer, is held back however interesting it is.

  • Materiality and national demand
  • Cross-system dependence and evidence gaps
  • Tractability and capability value
  • Safeguards and resource feasibility
  • A competent recipient for the result
05Governance and structure

How the institution is governed.

Governance

Technical office and Secretariat

Consortium · Governance · Research · Platforms · Programme year · Foundry · Standards · Reports · Take part · Foundry year · Reports year · Handoffs · Contributed capacity · Programme states · Records · Report streams · The programme year · A national mission · Mission admission · Data and resources qualified · Build accepted for exercise · Action Week live operation · Stand-down and evidence sealed · Publication authorised · Correction and renewal · The Nexus cycle · National Nexus · Regional programmes · Working groups · Competence Cells and CERT · Joining as institution · Governance dialogues · Platform onboarding · Foundry builds · Labs · Reports · Standards adoption · Risk Academy · Index data intake · Finance readiness dossier · The Nexus Consortium · Twenty-seven phase cycle · Executable annual cycle · Complaint and appeal · Engineering change · Incident response and forensics · Provider exit and decommissioning · De-risking case handoff · Founding and institutional establishment · Consortium formation lifecycle · National Nexus formation · Constitutional amendment · Independent review and appeal · Correction and contestability · Body charter and council · Succession · Public interest and anti-capture · External authority hand-off · Funding · Ethics · Public transparency · Data stewardship and trust · Gates G0 to G7 · Forming the annual agenda · Adopting a Nexus Standard · NNC membership · Year-One leadership pathway · Working-group assignment by competence · National company and SPV · Public-authority interface and delegation · Annual Universe operating cycle · Provider qualification

GCRI is one institution working through two organisations, with GCRI Canada as Lead Institution, Consortium Secretariat and lead contracting organisation.

  1. 01 Two organisations

    1. 01GCRI CanadaStart · Canadian not-for-profit, OntarioLead Institution, Consortium Secretariat and lead contracting organisation.
    2. 02GCRI USStart · A separate organisationGCRI’s United States institution, with its own legal identity and responsibilities.

  2. 02 Secretariat and office

    1. 03Consortium SecretariatStep · GCRI CanadaCoordinates the programme and routes correspondence to the regional and country desks.
    2. 04Universe technical officeStep · GCRIScoping, qualification, the Core build, exercise control, evidence capture and closeout.

  3. 03 Roles of record

    1. 05Standards SecretariatRecord · GCRI CanadaGCRI Canada is Secretariat and publisher of record of the Nexus Standards.
    2. 06Academy issuer of recordRecord · GCRI CanadaNo credential is issued until the method, signing key and revocation path are on record.
    3. 07Reports publisherRecord · GCRIGCRI publishes Reports. GRF authorises publication at G6.

  4. 04 Limit

    1. 08Never regulates, certifies, licenses or approvesGate · GCRIFindings carry their methods and uncertainty. GCRI decides for no one.
    2. 09Authority decidesOutcome · The competent authorityDecisions and execution stay with the government, operator or licensed institution.

GCRI · GCRI Canada · GCRI USAn outline of how the work is designed to run; it does not report the status of any decision or record.

06Shared methods

Common ground that makes countries comparable.

Domains

Twelve risk domains

Every national docket examines the same domains, from climate and water to AI, data and finance, without a single score.

Evidence

Nine evidence labels

Observed, published statistics, institution-reported, estimated, modelled, forecast, scenario, expert judgement and unknown.

Methods

STEM Commons

Fifty-four named methods with one canonical page each. See STEM Commons.

07Lawful cooperation

Federation without loss of control.

Cross-border work creates no treaty, customs arrangement, sovereignty transfer or right to move data. Engagement follows the Foundry sanctions and eligibility policy. Quarterly evidence and annual results revise the mandate through a recorded change process. See the Annual programme cycle, and GRF’s view of the same consortium on its Nexus Consortium relationship page.

08Questions

Questions and answers.

Does the global programme decide national priorities?
No. National structures keep their own agenda authority. The global layer coordinates and compares; it does not direct.
Is there one global risk index?
No. Countries are compared domain by domain, with evidence labels and uncertainty, not through a single score.
How are lessons shared between countries?
Through compatible methods, the quarterly and annual report editions and the annual programme, where selected missions are tested together. What a country shares is decided by that country, under its rights schedule.
How can an institution contribute to the global agenda?
Through a national or regional structure, or by writing to the Secretariat at the contact form.
The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation

Bring a method, a dataset or a question.

Information and enquiries are open today. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.

Propose a method See all contact routes
Legal

Maps, data and figures on this site are shown for context and general information. They are not advice, forecasts or warnings; the limits of the information are set out in the Disclaimers and Data Notices.

Privacy choices