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GCRIData and ComputeIn development
Data and Compute · Mandate and publisher

Mandate and publisher

Data and Compute is published by The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI). It is the GCRI platform for data infrastructure, national computational capacity and advanced computing in service of public knowledge. This page sets out its mandate, who answers for it, the limits of its role and its current state. The platform is in development, and nothing on it is an offer of compute, hosting or data services.

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In this dossier6 parts
  1. 01In briefThe short answer
  2. 02MandateData and computing as infrastructure for public knowledge
  3. 03PublisherGCRI answers for the platform
  4. 04LimitsWhat the platform does not do
  5. 05Key termsTerms used on this page
  6. 06Operating stateIn development, at service level R0

GCRI · In development · service level R0

STEM methods
7
Canonical methods this field applies
Topics
8
Subject pages in the field
Counterparts
0
Platforms in shared fields at GCRI, GRF and GRA
Report series
2
Nexus Reports series it contributes to
01In brief

The short answer.

Data and Compute is a specialist platform of The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation for data and compute as well as energy. Its mandate covers data infrastructure, national computational capacity and advanced computing in service of public knowledge. GCRI publishes it, answers for its content and takes no decision on anyone's behalf. It is in development at service level R0, and activities open as each is ready.

02Canvas

Mandate to authority.

Canvas · mandate to authorityDesign, not a record
How Data and Compute is governedA mandate sets the platform's scope; an editor and reviewers govern what it publishes; programmes and the community supply the work; the integrity route handles corrections; authority over decisions stays outside. Design of the governance, not a record.

Fig.How the platform is governed, from its mandate to the authorities who decide. Design, not a record.

03Geography

People and hazards in the contiguous United States.

For mandate and publisher, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on night lights, population density and true-colour imagery with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on the contiguous United States; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.

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

Layers 3

People and hazards, for this page

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.

For mandate and publisher, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on night lights, population density and true-colour imagery with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on the contiguous United States; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · GDACS · Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A · NASA HLS S30Sources 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 H3 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • 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 H3 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). CC BY 4.0
  • 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 H3 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 H3 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 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.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Live: GDACS (EC JRC / UN OCHA) Events are indicative, not official warnings.
  • Observed (EO): Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026), Microsoft Planetary Computer
  • Observed (EO): NASA HLS S30 (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).
  • Optional layers (35 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

  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • 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
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Enhanced vegetation index, rolling 8 days: MODIS Terra EVI, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026

04Mandate

Data and computing as infrastructure for public knowledge.

Compute

Capacity and dependency

How computing capacity is planned, what it depends on and how it fails.

Data

Interoperable evidence

How public-interest data can be shared, combined and trusted across institutions.

Practice

Reproducibility

How results can be rerun, checked and corrected.

05Publisher

GCRI answers for the platform.

GCRI is a research, development and policy institution. It works across Canada and the United States.

The platform's community is data engineers, high-performance computing specialists, cloud architects and university compute teams. Its planned outputs are data governance engineering briefs, compute readiness maps and reproducible workflows. It exists separately because compute and data engineering is distinct from the Nexus Foundry product portal. It stewards high-performance, cloud and edge computing and data engineering, interoperability and stewardship for the Consortium.

06Limits

What the platform does not do.

  • It does not allocate compute time, host data or operate cloud or high-performance computing services for others.
  • It does not certify data centres, security practices or data protection arrangements.
  • It does not rank or endorse vendors, providers or hardware.
  • It does not regulate data protection or digital markets, and contributing gives no influence over findings.

Decisions on data and compute stay with data controllers, research institutions, regulators and governments. See trust, rights and status.

07Key terms

Terms used on this page.

Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.

TermDefinition
Service level R0The current service level of Nexus pages: information and enquiries only. An enquiry receives a reference and a named next step; it creates no membership, contract, assignment or commitment.
Conflict of interestA situation in which financial, professional or personal interests could compromise, or appear to compromise, judgement in research or review.
Data infrastructureThe systems, standards and institutions that collect, store, describe, govern and share data.
FAIR dataData that are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable, under the FAIR Guiding Principles.
08Operating state

In development, at service level R0.

Data and Compute is in development. Its pages set out its scope and how it works, and its activities, records and services are published here as each one opens. The current service level is R0: information and enquiries.

  1. 01
  2. 02

    Contribute

    Participation paths for engineers and compute teams.

  3. 03

    Write

    contact@therisk.global. The acknowledgement gives a reference and names the next step.

09Questions

Questions and answers.

Is Data and Compute a separate organization?
No. It is a specialist platform of GCRI with no separate legal identity.
Who handles data governance policy questions?
Governance and rights questions are convened by The Global Risks Forum (GRF) at AI and Digital Governance. Data and Compute works on the engineering side.
Does the platform handle personal data?
Its published work uses open, synthetic or aggregated data. Any use of personal data would require a lawful basis and written terms, and enquiries are handled under the site's own privacy notice.
Related

Around Data and Compute.

Data and Compute

Bring your expertise to this field.

The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. 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.

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