How work moves in this field
The Nexus cycle in Nexus Agency: question, evidence, build, organize, test, publish, decide and renew, with the page and owner of each step.
- Publisher
- The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation
- Field
- Governance and institutions, Development finance
- 01QuestionNational, regional or institutional priority
- 02EvidenceSTEM foundation of the platform
- 03BuildNexus Foundry
- 04OrganizeNexus Ecosystem
- 05TestNexus Universe (independent site)
- 06PublishNexus Reports
- 07DecideCompetent authorities and institutions, through Nexus Rails
- 08RenewCorrections and the next annual agenda
The short answer.
The Nexus cycle in Nexus Agency is the eight-step path by which a question in the governance and institutions field becomes evidence, a Foundry build, an organized community, a controlled test, a publication and a decision taken by the competent authority. Here the evidence step rests on systems engineering and decision analysis under uncertainty, and findings feed Portfolio and Readiness.
Scoping to review.
Fig.A programme from scoping to the owner's decision. Design, not a record.
People and exposure in East Africa.
For how work moves in this field, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on population density, night lights and true-colour imagery, framed on East Africa; 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 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.
For how work moves in this field, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on population density, night lights and true-colour imagery, framed on East Africa; 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 · Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2ASources 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
- 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 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
- 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
- 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 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.
- Observed (EO): Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026), Microsoft Planetary Computer
- 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
- 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
- True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
- Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
- Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
- Nitrogen dioxide, lower atmosphere column: OMI Aura, NASA GES DISC · 10 Oct 2026
Eight steps, each with an owner.
- QuestionNational, regional or institutional priorityQuestion in Nexus Agency
- EvidenceSTEM foundation of the platformEvidence in Nexus Agency
- BuildNexus FoundryBuild in Nexus Agency
- OrganizeNexus EcosystemOrganize in Nexus Agency
- TestNexus Universe (independent site)Test in Nexus Agency
- PublishNexus ReportsPublish in Nexus Agency
- DecideCompetent authorities and institutions, through Nexus RailsDecide in Nexus Agency
- RenewCorrections and the next annual agendaRenew in Nexus Agency
How the Nexus cycle runs for technical assistance.
Nexus Agency enters the cycle at the organize step, forming expert teams for national questions, and returns at renew with closeout records and lessons for the next assignment.
Who is responsible at each step.
| Step | Owner |
|---|---|
| Question | National, regional or institutional priority |
| Evidence | STEM foundation of the platform |
| Build | Nexus Foundry |
| Organize | Nexus Ecosystem: community, chapters, councils, national cells |
| Test | Nexus Universe (independent site) |
| Publish | Nexus Reports |
| Decide | Competent authorities and institutions, through Nexus Rails |
| Renew | Corrections and the next annual agenda |
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 |
|---|---|
| Nexus cycle | The eight-step loop by which work moves in every Nexus field: question, evidence, build, organize, test, publish, decide and renew, each step with a named owner. |
| Competent authority | The body that a law or regulation designates to exercise a given power or duty, such as a supervisor, a civil protection agency or a ministry; only it can take the decisions the law assigns to it. |
| Peer review | Evaluation of a work by independent experts in the field before publication. |
| DAC evaluation criteria | The OECD criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability for judging development interventions. |
Where this page's references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
Who takes the decision at the end?
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.