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The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)

International non-profit organization registered in Canada; committed to reducing glocal risks by accelerating public participation in research, policy, and development programs. GCRI acknowledges that we are on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples

Pioneering a new architecture for risk mitigation that is more social, integrative, and driven by civil society. It is a place for anyone looking for lifelong learning opportunities. We build participatory mechanisms for private-public-planet actions that attracts us to work together and enable systems innovation.

Mission
Our mission is to create a unique nexus where civil society meets and engages the academy, industry, and government to collectively mitigate risks and make smarter decisions toward more resilient, democratic, and prosperous communities. We build tools, capacities, and communities to tackle Environmental, Social, and Governance ESG issues. Our network architecture provide consensus platforms for ILA, MPM, GRIx, iVRS, CRS, SCF, DICE, ECT
Vision
We envision a world of harmony, equity, and justice for all on a sustainable planet, nurtured by innovation, collaboration, stewardship, and engaged citizenry. Our vision is backed by robust SIA, EIA, HIA, GIA, FIA, TIA, SLIA to bridge the digital and physical divide and help resilience building with multi-pronged, symbiotic, and community-driven paths toward the future.
Function
GCRI acts as global focal point for the coordination of risk mitigation and resilience building. We build QH to integrate researchers, community leaders, industry experts and civic hackers in collaborative projects through WILPs that enable inclusion, justice, and equity.
Values

Technology is never successful or “right” in some abstract sense, but it can support many different people. The benefits are justified and made understandable to people on their terms. Bottom-up pathways for discussion and resolution between those in charge of systems and those who bear the risks of living under them are critical for bridging the divide between technology and society.

The greatest uses of technology empower us to create whatever we choose to imagine. To reuse technology in unpredictable ways to the designer but adaptive to their contexts, much like, say, programming languages. In turn, designers can refine their underlying parameters and assumptions to address broader considerations. Reusability lets people determine for themselves whether and how to use technology, protecting human agency over the forces that shape our lives and livelihoods.

The modern world is multidisciplinary. There are many complementary ways of thinking and beliefs about what is essential. We need technical expertise, be it in policy or engineering. We need attention to how people live, which is the focus of community organizers and human-centered designers. We need the project managers and politicians who lead broad public discourse as neutral coordinators, orchestrators, and synthesizers of the other disciplines. Every discipline may have rigorous internal standards, but ultimately they must also work with and be accountable to other fields’ standards.

The most effective technologies are tools for human collaboration. The personal computer, mobile devices, the Internet – all are connective technologies that actively engage us and facilitate our coordination. They gave us the modern computer revolution. Some forget this and now think the future for technology is inevitably in automated systems built to manipulate or replace humans. Nevertheless, this is a confused and dystopian view of technology’s role in society. For our digital systems to succeed, they must work for people. The focus needs to be on the human experience.

Innovation Lab
Discover;
Learn;
Build;

We support innovation, collaboration and knowledge-sharing amongst our members, partners and the broader research, development, and education communities. Our WILPs streamline the identification, mitigation, and evaluation of Risks, followed by the optimal use of GRIx to tackle Issues and manage adverse impacts. They provide secure network platforms that enable citizens to participate in MPM and use iVRS to report risks and values anywhere. Risk Pathways deliver out-of-the-box CRS functionality to meet institutional requirements, including SCF taxonomies for digital-green skills, compliance frameworks and real-time validation systems. They help members and QH stakeholders with DICE to navigate essential resources and find the right levers across the public-private-planet landscape. 

Research
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Design
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Policy
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Integration
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Interoperation
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Features
MPM
Integrated pathways for existing national portfolios on the right to inclusive education, skills development, and career mobility through LLL for all
CRS
Rewarding participation with utility value across the network to increase interoperability and career mobility
DICE
Next-generation of internet for risk and innovation in pluralistic societies
GRIx
Open source standard indexing system for linked open data set about global risk and humanitarian crisis.
iVRS
Stakeholder engagement and reporting mechanism for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks and impacts
SCF
Frameworks, skills taxonomies, competencies and policies for the twin digital-green transition
UNSDSN logo

GCRI is a member of SDSN Canada and part of a global SDSN movement to build a network of universities, colleges, and knowledge institutions to promote practical solutions for sustainable development. With over 1,700 participating institutions worldwide, SDSN members work together to support action-oriented research to address some of the world’s most pressing problems, including the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.

SDSN Canada’s mission is to mobilize Canadian universities and colleges to facilitate learning and accelerate problem solving for the UN’s Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To these ends, SDSN Canada mobilizes support and partnership throughout the country for the SDGs, promotes high-quality education and research collaboration, and supports governments in understanding and addressing the challenges of sustainable development.The University of Waterloo is the founding institution for SDSN Canada. As host, the University of Waterloo uses its position as home to Canada’s largest Faculty of Environment to share knowledge, activate research and help solve the interconnected economic, social, and environmental challenges confronting the world.

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