GCRI · Systemic Risk Management
Methods and uncertainty
The methods Systemic Risk Management relies on: their equations and assumptions, the data they need, how they are validated and the limits of what they can show.
Methods and uncertainty in five parts.
The methods in use.
- 01Decision analysis under uncertaintyMulti-criteria treatment choice · Decision trees for contingent plansApplied here
- 02Scenario design and stress testingCross-sector scenario design · Reverse stress testing · Second-round effectsApplied here
- 03Probability and statisticsFrequency and severity modelling · Dependence between risks · Combining data and judgementApplied here
- 04Network science and contagionDependency network mapping · Centrality and concentration · Failure propagation simulationApplied here
- 05Reliability and resilience engineeringRedundancy and diversity design · Graceful degradation planning · Recovery time analysisApplied here
- 06Uncertainty quantification and model validationPropagating input uncertainty · Separating kinds of uncertainty · Deep uncertainty framingApplied here
Each method, its role in this field and how it is checked.
- Decision analysisRole hereDecision analysis structures choices under uncertainty: it makes the options, objectives, uncertainties and trade-offs explicit so that a decision can be examined and defended.Checks appliedSensitivity to weights; Value of information; Requisite model review
- Scenario stressRole hereScenario design and stress testing are the method this platform stewards for the network.Checks appliedPlausibility review; Severity benchmarking; Model coverage
- Probability statisticsRole hereProbability and statistics give risk assessment its estimates of frequency, severity and their uncertainty.Checks appliedGoodness of fit; Back-testing; Prior sensitivity
- Network scienceRole hereNetwork science represents systems as nodes and links so that the structure of dependence can be measured.Checks appliedMissing link sensitivity; Validation against past events; Alternative failure rules
- Resilience engineeringRole hereReliability and resilience engineering supply the design methods that keep systems working through failure: redundancy, diversity, graceful degradation and recovery planning.Checks appliedCommon-cause analysis; Exercise verification; Failure mode review
- Uncertainty quantificationRole hereUncertainty quantification states how much a risk estimate could differ from reality and why.Checks appliedGlobal sensitivity analysis; Calibration of intervals; Structural uncertainty
How the process runs.
Process explorer · Process
Methods and uncertainty: Source to evidence record
10 steps·4 stages·2 gates
Process
Methods and uncertainty: Source to evidence record
A source is registered and assessed, its record labelled and classified, and a Digital Evidence Passport carries provenance; a correction reaches every dependent record.
01 Intake
- 01Identify the sourceSource · The source stewardDiscovery is not ingestion. Source identification records the source class, steward, institutional role and jurisdiction.
- 03Register the sourceStepRegistration makes a discovered source a governed participant in the evidence lifecycle. It implies no endorsement or certification.
02 Assessment
- 04Jurisdiction and rights classificationGateRights classification identifies licence, consent, confidentiality and reuse limits. The result determines access and routing.
- 05Evidence quality assessmentStepQuality assessment decides whether a record is fit for a defined use. Quality is multidimensional and never a single score.
- 06Evidence labelStepEvery finding carries one of nine evidence labels. Missing data is shown as missing, never as zero.
03 Record
- 07Evidence classificationRecordClassification gives records lifecycle states, such as source-verified, public-safe or restricted. States can coexist and set evidence use.
- 08Source release and identifierRecord · NXS-GRX (canonical data, provenance and risk)A source release records rights, temporal coverage and source lineage. A UNI is allocated through a catalogue and never typed by hand.
- 09Digital Evidence PassportRecordThe passport records provenance, quality, rights, jurisdiction, permitted use and history, so evidence keeps its context when it travels.
04 Use and correction
- 02Correction reaches dependent recordsStep · NXS-GRX (canonical data, provenance and risk)A source correction propagates to dependent cuts and products without rewriting old results.
- 10Public-safe reviewGatePublic-safe review decides whether a record can be shared publicly. It is a distinct stage and is not validation.
Data protocols: evidence lifecycle · Data protocols: core data objects and evidence records · The Global Risks Index (NXS-GRX)Designed 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. The data-protocol pages describe a design, not a running system.
Where uncertainty in risk management analysis comes from, and how it is shown.
| Source | Why it matters here | How it is reported |
|---|---|---|
| Likelihood estimates | Often expert judgement on rare events | Calibrated language and the basis of each estimate |
| Consequence estimates | Depend on cascade assumptions | Ranges with dependency assumptions stated |
| Risk matrices | Can rank risks inconsistently | Matrices supplemented with distributions where data allow |
| Velocity and onset | Rarely estimated, yet decisive for response | Explicit onset and duration fields |
Heat maps are used as communication devices, not as analysis; the underlying estimates are published with them.
How uncertainty is reported.
- 01
State assumptions
Each analysis lists its assumptions and the data it depends on.
- 02
Quantify where possible
Ranges and confidence are reported alongside central estimates.
- 03
Validate and compare
Models are checked against observations and, where possible, against other models.
- 04
Publish limits
What an analysis cannot show is stated beside what it can.
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.
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