Skip to content

GCRI · Programmes

Future-oriented laboratories

Future-oriented laboratories are proposed themed labs in which The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI) would examine how work, media, energy, health, space, education, food and water systems could change, and what capability countries would need. Each would run under a written charter. No charter is on record, so each theme appears as a concept. Part of GCRI programmes.

Make an enquiry Back to Programmes
01Workspace

The workspace for future-oriented laboratories.

Programme portfolio.Illustrative interface; not live data.

GCRI · Programme portfolio. Programme portfolio: example names and illustrative values, not a record.

02Themes

Each theme, by charter state.

ThemeCharter stateRelated work
WorkConcept; no charter on recordFuture of Work and Skills
Media and informationConcept; no charter on recordInformation Integrity and Public Trust, at The Global Risks Forum
EnergyConcept; no charter on recordEnergy Nexus
HealthConcept; no charter on recordHealth Nexus
SpaceConcept; no charter on recordSpace and Earth Observation
EducationConcept; no charter on recordFuture of Work and Skills
FoodConcept; no charter on recordFood Nexus
WaterConcept; no charter on recordWater Nexus

Other themes may be proposed. A theme appears as chartered only when its charter is recorded.

03Charter

What a charter must contain.

  1. 01

    Owner and question

    An accountable owner and a material question about future change.

  2. 02

    Methods

    Named foresight, scenario and modelling methods from the STEM Commons, with their limits.

  3. 03

    Review

    Domain and editorial review, with conflicts declared.

  4. 04

    Outputs and closure

    Planned outputs, rights, duration and how the laboratory closes.

04Process

How the process runs.

Process

Future-oriented laboratories: Programme through eight gates

GRF records eight yearly gates, each a programme decision; a gate not passed stops its work, and the competent authority decides outside.

  1. 01 Q1 · Planning

    1. 01G0 · Annual programme authorisedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF authorises the annual mandate. It never sets a national agenda.
    2. 03Route the candidate mission to standardsStep · Nexus StandardsNexus Standards routes each candidate mission to the standards and profiles that apply.

  2. 02 Q2 · Readiness and build

    1. 04G1 · Missions admittedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF admits missions with reasons recorded. It cannot admit a mission without an accountable owner.
    2. 05G2 · Data and resources qualifiedGate · The Global Risks ForumReadiness preparation closes when data, people and resources are qualified.
    3. 06G3 · Build accepted for exerciseGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF records whether the build is accepted for exercise. A gate not passed stops the work it governs.

  3. 03 Q3 · Action Week

    1. 07G4 · Controlled live operation authorisedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF authorises controlled live operation for Action Week.
    2. 08G5 · Evidence sealed and stand-down recordedGate · The Global Risks ForumThe evidence is sealed with its provenance and the stand-down is recorded.

  4. 04 Q4 · Reporting and renewal

    1. 02Competent authority decides and actsActor · The competent authorityThe competent authority decides and acts under its own rules. The programme informs it and never decides for it.
    2. 09Scientific and editorial reviewStep · Reviewers and the publisherQualified, conflict-managed reviewers and the publisher decide what is accepted. Institutions cannot decide a scientific conclusion.
    3. 10G6 · Publication authorisedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF authorises publication of results that have passed scientific and editorial review. It cannot publish personal data.
    4. 11G7 · Renewal reviewedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF reviews renewal and sets the next cycle’s mandate.

The programme year · The Global Risks Forum · Decision rightsDesigned programme process, not a record of operation. No cycle has run and every programme is at service level R0. A gate is a programme decision, never a public-authority approval, certification or deployment authorisation.

05Boundaries

Foresight is not prediction.

  • Scenario results are labelled as scenarios, never as forecasts or observed impact.
  • Capabilities still in research are labelled as research.
  • A theme listed here confers no status on any institution working in that field.
06Status

How to propose a laboratory.

Information and enquiries are open today. Send a proposal to the research collaboration form. Related testing is on the Labs gateway. Foresight will appear in the Foresight Outlook series once released. The Global Risks Forum (GRF) examines futures from a governance view in its Foresight Nexus.

07Questions

Questions and answers.

Are any future laboratories running?
No. No charter is on record, so every theme is shown as a concept.
How is a laboratory different from a specialist platform?
A platform is a standing community for a field. A laboratory would be a time-bound, chartered inquiry into how that field could change.
Which themes come first?
None is scheduled. A theme moves forward when a charter with an owner, a question, methods and resources is proposed and approved, and the approval is recorded on this page.
Can an institution sponsor a laboratory?
Support would be set out in the charter’s terms and disclosed. No support buys a finding or a scenario outcome.
The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation

Bring a method, a dataset or a question.

Information and enquiries are open today. 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.

Propose a method See all contact routes
Legal

Maps, data and figures on this site are shown for context and general information. They are not advice, forecasts or warnings; the limits of the information are set out in the Disclaimers and Data Notices.

Privacy choices