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Nexus Labs · Future of X labs

Future of X labs

The Future of X labs are laboratory programmes in development of Nexus Labs, a platform of The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI), each looking ahead at how one domain of work and life could change and what evidence that change needs. This page is the index of those programmes, with the charter and operating state of each. A lab is shown as chartered or operating only when a charter record exists; until then it is listed as in development. The current service level is R0: information and enquiries.

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In this dossier6 parts
  1. 01In briefThe short answer
  2. 02IndexLab programmes and their state
  3. 03StatesWhat each state means
  4. 04A charterWhat a lab charter is designed to contain
  5. 05Key termsTerms used on this page
  6. 06ConnectionsWhere the labs connect

GCRI · Established · service level R0

01In brief

The short answer.

The Future of X labs are laboratory programmes in development at Nexus Labs, each looking ahead at how one domain of work and life could change and what evidence that change needs. A lab is shown as chartered or operating only when a charter record exists; until then it is listed as in development.

02Geography

Hazards and exposure in World.

For future of x labs, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on true-colour imagery and land cover with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on World; 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 2

Hazards and exposure, 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 future of x labs, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on true-colour imagery and land cover with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on World; 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 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 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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • 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

  • 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
  • Active fires and thermal anomalies, last day: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026

03Index

Lab programmes and their state.

A lab in development has a defined focus and a topic page. It has no staff, budget, site or results until a charter is recorded.

04States

What each state means.

  1. 01

    In development

    The focus and questions are described. No charter has been adopted.

  2. 02

    Chartered

    A charter names the lab's lead, host institution, scope, ethics arrangements and review plan.

  3. 03

    Operating

    Authorized experiments or challenges are under way, listed on the experiments page.

  4. 04

    Paused or closed

    Activity has stopped. Records and published evidence remain available.

05A charter

What a lab charter is designed to contain.

  • the questions the lab exists to answer and those outside its scope;
  • the lead, the host institution and the supervising body;
  • the methods it will use and the STEM Commons pages they rest on;
  • how participants, including students, are supervised and credited;
  • how results, including negative ones, are published and corrected.
06Key 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
Strategic foresightA structured and systematic way of using ideas about the future to anticipate and prepare for change, in OECD usage.
Living labA real-life setting in which users and communities take part in developing and testing innovations.
Horizon scanningA systematic search for early signs of emerging risks and opportunities beyond current planning.
07Connections

Where the labs connect.

GCRI describes the Future Labs programme on GCRI Future Labs. Evidence from labs is designed to feed the Labs Evidence series of Nexus Reports, and testbed protocols can be exercised in the annual Nexus Universe programme governed by The Global Risks Forum (GRF), described on Nexus Universe exercises and learning.

08Questions

Questions and answers.

Can my institution host a Future of X lab?
Write to research@therisk.global. Hosting is decided in the charter, and an expression of interest does not create a host role.
Why are the labs listed as in development?
Because no charter is on record yet. The page shows a lab as chartered or operating only when the record exists.
Can new Future of X labs be proposed?
Yes. A proposal describes the domain, the questions and the people who would lead it, and is reviewed against the programme's scope.
How do students take part?
Through supervised tasks with a mentor and a learning plan, described on participate in research.
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