Interdisciplinary teams
Many questions in the Nexus network cross disciplines: a basin study needs hydrologists, engineers, economists and community specialists working to one scope. Nexus Agency, a platform of The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI), is designed to form such teams under written responsibilities. This page explains how a team is formed and lists teams only once each has a documented scope and named roles. No team is shown until its record exists. The current service level is R0: information and enquiries.
- 01In briefThe short answer
- 02FormationA team is formed around a question, with roles in writing
- 03AccountabilityResponsibilities stay with named people
- 04Current stateNo team is listed yet
- 05Key termsTerms used on this page
- 06ToolsWhere teams work
GCRI · Established · service level R0
The short answer.
Nexus Agency teams are multidisciplinary groups formed under written responsibilities for questions that cross fields, such as a basin study needing hydrologists, engineers, economists and community specialists. A team is listed only once it has a documented scope and named roles.
Jurisdictions in the Lake Chad Basin.
The jurisdictions that hold authority over this question: countries, their first-level divisions and capitals, shown for the Lake Chad Basin as an example geography for this subject.
A team is formed around a question, with roles in writing.
- 01
Scope the mission
The host mandate and the question are agreed first, following technical assistance.
- 02
Define the roles
Each role states its competence, its deliverable, its time commitment and its reviewer. Roles are filled on evidence of competence, as set out under skills and review.
- 03
Name the lead
One accountable lead coordinates the team and answers to the host for the agreed scope.
- 04
Write the responsibilities
A responsibility schedule records who does, reviews, approves and receives each output.
- 05
Close and record
At closeout, each member's contribution is recorded and the team listing is marked closed.
Responsibilities stay with named people.
One accountable lead
Coordinates the work and the handoff. The lead does not take decisions that belong to the host.
Independent review
Outputs are reviewed by someone outside the authoring role, with dissent preserved.
Receiving institution
The host receives the outputs and decides how to use them under its own rules.
No team is listed yet.
Teams will be listed here once their scope and roles are documented and the host agrees to publication. Teams formed for the annual Nexus Universe missions are coordinated with the programme governed by The Global Risks Forum (GRF); see Nexus Universe at GRF.
A listed team describes a scope and roles. It is not a legal entity, a joint venture or a partnership between the institutions its members come from.
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.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Responsibility matrix | A chart, such as RACI, assigning who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed for each task. |
| Interdisciplinary research | Research that integrates data, methods, concepts or theories from two or more disciplines to answer a question none could answer alone. |
| Terms of reference | The document that defines an assignment's objectives, scope, deliverables, counterpart, acceptance criteria and reserved decisions. |
Where teams work.
Authorized teams are designed to work in Nexus Foundry projects and workspaces, with collaboration records in the Hub system and handoffs recorded through Rails. Access follows the project's authorization, never team membership alone. Data a team handles stays under the permissions the host granted for that mission, and leaves with the team only where the terms allow it.
Questions and answers.
Can I propose a team for a question?
Who owns what a team produces?
Can members come from competing organizations?
What happens if a team member leaves?
Around Nexus Agency.
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.