Shared risks have no single owner
River basins, grids, supply corridors and digital systems cross jurisdictions. No ministry, regulator or operator can govern them alone, and gaps between mandates are where failures spread.
Global Risk Forum Swiss association Public-good institution
Leadership, dialogue and governance of the annual programme
Stronger institutions for interconnected risks.
Global Risk Forum (GRF) is a Swiss association and public-good institution that brings leaders and institutions together on shared risk. It convenes councils and dialogues through the year and governs Nexus Universe, the annual programme designed so that selected work is built, tested and learned from before a crisis does the testing.
- Leads
- Leadership, institutional dialogue and governance of the Nexus Universe programme
- Legal form
- A Swiss association with a public-good, not-for-profit purpose
- Works with
- GCRI and GRA, the other pillar institutions of Nexus Consortiums
- Never
- Regulates, finances, procures or certifies
distance to the programme region anchorOuterRegionalNearCore
GRF · institution · fieldDESIGN FIGURE
Convening networkThe Consortium Secretariat's links to the six programme regions; cells shaded by distance to each region's population-weighted anchor. Not venues or commitments.
- Platforms
- 12
- 7 established, 5 in development
- Regions
- 6
- In the consortium geography
- Planned hubs
- 15
- Coordination roles, not offices
- Programme gates
- 8
- G0 to G7 in each annual cycle
01Explorer
Councils, regions and the programme year.
How the Forum's councils, regions and programme year fit together.
How the Forum works · select a viewDesign, not a register
RegionDialogue linkCouncilGRF
Fig. 01Read left to right: who takes part, where they meet, what comes out and who decides, over the programme year. Design, not a record of membership.
Councils
Three pathways, one stated purpose each.
Constituency councils for institutions, the Leadership Council for individual leaders and working groups for experts, with global and regional roles in formation. Each is designed with a selection process, a term and a public record of what it decided.
- Pathways
- 3
- Institutions, leaders, experts
- Regions
- 6
- In the consortium geography
Dialogues
Dialogue is the instrument, never a decision.
GRF convenes institutions and leaders on shared risk. A dialogue produces a record, an agenda item or a question for the technical office; the decision stays with the institution that holds it.
- Outputs
- 3
- Record, agenda item, question
- Never
- 0
- Regulates, finances, procures, certifies
The year
Eleven months to prepare, one to build, one week to act.
The annual programme runs on the outer track: preparation, the Core build, the action week and a planned close. GRF holds the mandate and the gates; GCRI runs the technical office.
- Gates
- 8
- G0 to G7, each a recorded decision
- Action week
- 1
- Ten tracks under exercise control
02Why it matters
Risks connect faster than institutions cooperate.
A heatwave strains a power grid, a hospital and a food supply at the same time. A cyber incident in one country halts ports and payments in several. The institutions that must respond are divided by mandate, sector and border, and they rarely practise together before the moment they need each other.
Cooperation is improvised in a crisis
Roles, data-sharing and decision rights are often agreed only after an emergency begins. Institutions that have never tested their arrangements discover the weaknesses at the worst time.
Dialogue rarely leaves a record
Conferences produce statements, not commitments that anyone can follow up. Without records of what was agreed, by whom and with what dissent, the same questions return every year.
03Twin and cascade simulator
Build a twin of early warning and anticipatory action.
Assemble the hazards, systems, sectors and controls of the Nexus Standards profile for early warning and anticipatory action, pick an initiating hazard and run the cascade; the Map view places it on an example geography with open data. An exercise for dialogue and preparedness, not a forecast or an official warning.
Hazards
- Ice-jam flood
- Tropical cyclone
- Heatwave
- HIV epidemic
- Storm surge (set off downstream)
- Intense rainfall (set off downstream)
- River flood (set off downstream)
- Flash flood (set off downstream)
- Dangerous surf (set off downstream)
- Widespread power outage (set off downstream)
- Mass displacement (set off downstream)
- Coastal flood (set off downstream)
- Extreme fire weather (set off downstream)
- Wildfire (set off downstream)
- Heat-driven grid stress (set off downstream)
- Agricultural drought (set off downstream)
- Flash drought (set off downstream)
- Snow drought (set off downstream)
Systems and couplings
Controls
NS-0Constitution and principlesNS-3Risk record UNIs (grammar, legacy crosswalk, allocation authority)NS-9Contextual UNIs (deployments, instances, programme instances)NS-10Policies and clauses (machine-readable obligations: definition, binding, evaluation and enforcement)NS-11Verification and monitoring (evidence, attestations, zero-trust conformance observation)NRS-C7Early warning, triggers and anticipatory actionNRS-S9System profile: NXS-AAP (Anticipatory action and triggers)NRS-H117Hazard family: Social cohesion and atrocity risk (NHS-1 soc.cohesion)NRS-H83Hazard family: Health system capacity failure (NHS-1 health.system)NRS-H98Hazard family: Agentic AI acting at scale (NHS-1 tech.ai-agentic)NRS-H22Hazard family: Solar-terrestrial storms (NHS-1 space.solar-storm)
Observation
- NWS API active alerts (CAP 1.2 as GeoJSON) (listed for reference)
- GloFAS global flood forecasts and reanalysis (listed for reference)
- ECMWF open data (IFS and AIFS real-time forecasts) (listed for reference)
- CHIRPS quasi-global gridded precipitation (listed for reference)
- Number of countries that have multi-hazard early warning systems
- Number of countries that have multi-hazard monitoring and forecasting systems
- Number of people per 100,000 covered by early warning information through local governments or national dissemination mechanisms
- Number of countries with accessible, understandable, usable and relevant disaster risk information and assessment
Example geography
- Southeast Asia: 51 H3 hexagons at resolution 2
- Surface water through cloud, 30 m (OPERA DSWx-S1 radar), NASA GIBS
- Rain rate, last half hour (IMERG), NASA GIBS
- Surface air temperature, daytime (AIRS), NASA GIBS
- Night lights tonight, outages (VIIRS Day/Night Band), NASA GIBS
04Risk and response
Coupled risk, applied response.
The sectors a policy on drought has to coordinate: a choice in one ministry lands in the others.
Coupled risk10 / 15 relations
Sectors · DroughtStress
Applied response18 / 18 handoffs
Pillars · DroughtKPI
WhenAll phases
Context
Drought
Low river flows cut irrigation, cooling water and hydropower at once; food prices, nutrition and ecosystems follow.
W · E · I · F · H · B
Risk
- Sectors
- 5 of 6
- Relations
- 10 of 15
- Coupling
- 0.68 share of total
Hover a corner, a line or a row to trace it across both sides.
Route
Applied to drought
L · F · U · S · R · A
Response
- Pillars
- 6 of 6
- Handoffs
- 18 of 18
- Loops
- 17 closed
Expected value
- Value at risk
- –no published benchmark
- Return on resilience
- $7.1Tnet benefitsGlobal Commission on Adaptation, Adapt Now, 2019
- Avoided loss
- –no published benchmark
Hover a pillar, a line or a row to read how it is applied.
Left: a teaching cascade (shock 0.6, gain 0.35, four rounds) over teaching values for a typical city-region, not measurements. Right: illustrative applications and the KPI each pillar answers for; values are published benchmarks, cited, not forecasts. Open events: NASA EONET, live.
05What GRF leads
Cooperation through the year, tested in one annual programme.
Within Nexus Consortiums, GRF carries the leadership and convening role. It gives institutions a neutral place to agree what matters, prepare together through the year and test their arrangements under controlled conditions.
Leadership
Councils and leaders
Councils for institutions, individual leaders and expert working groups, each designed with a stated purpose, a selection procedure and limits on what membership confers.
- Leadership baselines
- Contribution plans
- Council records
Dialogue
Institutional dialogue
Structured dialogues between public authorities, operators, researchers, civil society and communities, documented so that agreements, dissent and follow-up are visible.
- Agendas
- Dialogue records
- Commitments and corrections
Governance
The annual programme
Governance of Nexus Universe within GRF's instruments: the annual agenda, mission admission, the gates each edition passes and the publication of what it found.
- Annual mandate
- Gate decisions
- Outcome records
GRF convenes and governs the programme; it does not regulate, finance, procure, certify, underwrite, rate, invest or approve projects. Evidence and methods are led by The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI), finance readiness by Global Risk Alliance (GRA), and every decision stays with the competent authority. Read more about GRF.
06Councils and leadership
Three ways to take part, each with clear limits.
Participation follows capacity. An institution, a leader and an expert each join differently, contribute differently and receive different things. None of them buys authority over findings or decisions.
See every pathway on Participate.
- 01
Institutions
The institution is the member of the National Nexus Consortium (NNC). On this site, institutions take part through constituency councils: state and government, research and universities, industry and standards, media and civil society, and communities and Indigenous institutions.
- 02
Leaders
The National Leadership Council (NLC), the Leadership Council on this site. Leaders are selected in a personal capacity and work through a structured first year with a baseline, a contribution plan and quarterly evidence.
- 03
Experts
The National Working Groups (NWG), the working groups on this site. Experts, practitioners and students take bounded, supervised assignments by competence, with no fee for ordinary participation.
- 04
Global and regional councils
Global and regional leadership roles are in formation. Their scope and constitution are published here only once they are adopted.
In formation
07Nexus Universe
One year of work, tested in one week.
Nexus Universe is the annual operating, integration, exercise and learning programme of Nexus Consortiums. It is not a conference, a trade show, a procurement fair or a funding platform. GRF governs it; GCRI provides its technical office.
One year
Prepare
National questions, research, working-group delivery and quarterly evidence lead to an approved mission portfolio.
One month
Build
A temporary technical backbone is assembled, integrated, secured and rehearsed for the missions admitted.
One week
Act and test
Controlled exercises, scenario work and leadership deliberation, with independent observation and stop-work authority.
Planned stand-down
Stand down
Temporary access is closed and evidence sealed. Review, reconciliation and corrections continue afterwards.
No edition is on record yet. The one-day stage is a planned stand-down until the annual programme records it, and review, reconciliation and corrections continue afterwards. The programme has its own Nexus Universe website; the Nexus Universe gateway on this site sets out how GRF governs it.
Fig. 01The annual cycle, from preparation to stand-down.Illustrative interface; placeholder values, not results.
Gate canvas · G0 to G7 as a run graphDesign, not a record
Fig.The year as a gated graph: gates as decision nodes between preparation, build, action week and close-out, with the run timeline showing where an edition would stand. Gates are decisions, not dates.
08Programme areas
Where GRF convenes institutions on shared risk.
Each programme area is designed to bring together the authorities, operators and experts who share a risk, so that roles are clarified and arrangements are tested before they are needed.
Convening
Leadership dialogues
Dialogues among leaders and institutions through the year, each producing a record of what was agreed and what remains open.
AgendaDialogue record
PreparednessRisk management and preparedness
National and institutional risk oversight, continuity, early warning and anticipatory action, with roles agreed in advance.
Role mapReadiness review
CrisisDisaster and crisis governance
Coordination between public authorities, operators and humanitarian actors across response and recovery.
Coordination planLessons
EnvironmentClimate and nature
Institutions responsible for adaptation, nature and transboundary environmental priorities, working from shared evidence.
Shared agendaPolicy options
TechnologyDigital and AI governance
Human oversight, accountability and rights in the use of AI and digital public systems.
Oversight questionsDialogue record
HealthHealth security
Cross-border and public health responsibilities, and the continuity of health systems that depend on power, water and supply chains.
Responsibility mapExercise design
ExercisesExercises and simulation
Controlled scenarios with simulation marking, independent evaluators and after-action learning.
ScenarioAfter-action record
CouncilsCouncil programmes
Structured years for leaders and institutions: baselines, contribution plans, quarterly work and a reviewed next step.
BaselineContribution plan
Annual programmeNexus Universe governance
The annual mandate, mission admission, gate decisions and the publication of outcome records.
MandateGate record
Each offer, what it involves and what is available now is set out on Programmes. The technical basis for this work comes from GCRI's programmes.
09Specialist network
Twelve specialist platforms for governance.
GRF has twelve specialist platforms: seven established and five in development, whose pages set out their scope and how they work, with activities, records and services published as each opens. Each is a specialist community that applies named methods from science, technology, engineering and mathematics to a governance question and publishes what it finds.
See how they connect on the specialist network.
- Research NexusWhat it works onInstitutional research dialogue, comparative learning and evidence interpretation
- Innovation NexusWhat it works onPublic-interest innovation and cross-sector technology cooperation
- Policy NexusWhat it works onPolicy analysis, institutional capacity and cross-border learning
- Foresight NexusWhat it works onStrategic foresight, multiple futures and institutional anticipation
- Capital NexusWhat it works onRisk-informed investment policy and public-good readiness, not finance execution
- Diplomacy NexusWhat it works onScientific, policy and institutional dialogue across jurisdictions
- Governance NexusWhat it works onComparative governance of institutions exposed to compounding risk
- Climate and Nature GovernanceWhat it works onClimate, adaptation and transboundary environmental institutions (in development)
- Disaster and Crisis GovernanceWhat it works onCrisis readiness and whole-of-society coordination (in development)
- AI and Digital GovernanceWhat it works onInstitutional governance of AI and digital systems (in development)
- Health and Biosecurity GovernanceWhat it works onHealth security, pandemic cooperation and One Health (in development)
- Information Integrity and Public TrustWhat it works onInformation quality and public trust under systemic stress (in development)
10Global and regional cooperation
National ownership first, then regional and global cooperation.
Countries set their own agendas through national structures. Regional work brings together the questions that cross borders, and the global programme compares what each has learned without merging their data or authority.
National
Country-owned priorities
National structures keep their agenda authority and may decline participation or data sharing. A country listed in the geography does not, by that fact, have a constituted programme.
Regional
Shared systems across borders
Six regions and fifteen planned hubs focus on basins, grids, corridors, health systems and digital infrastructure. Hubs are planned coordination roles, never offices or territories.
Global
One annual programme
National and regional contributions are designed to meet in Nexus Universe, where admitted missions are tested and reviewed findings are published for participants to examine.
The six regions, their planned hubs and their desks are described by the Consortium Secretariat on About GCRI. Regional enquiries can go straight to a regional desk, listed on Contact.
11Pillar institutions
Three institutions, one coordinated programme.
Nexus Foundry is operated at national and regional level by Nexus Consortiums through their host and lead organizations, within a multilateral programme led by three pillar not-for-profit institutions, GCRI, GRF and GRA, on a public-private-planet partnership.
| Institution | Leads on | Where to go |
|---|---|---|
| Global Risk Forum (GRF) | Leadership, institutional dialogue and governance of the Nexus Universe programme | About GRF |
| The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI), working across Canada and the United States | Research, development and policy research; the Consortium Secretariat, led by GCRI as global contracting party | About GCRI |
| Global Risk Alliance (GRA) | Translating risk evidence into the questions finance, insurance and development institutions ask, never an approval | Finance readiness at GRA |
12Routes in
Start with the question your institution needs answered.
Most routes begin with an enquiry to the Secretariat and a conversation about scope. Cooperation with public authorities never depends on buying a membership tier.
Public authorities
Ministries and agencies
Bring a shared risk to a dialogue or propose an exercise; your institution keeps its own authority throughout.
International bodies
Regional and multilateral organisations
Define a cross-border question for the annual agenda, using your own authorised instruments.
Leaders
Individual leaders
Ask about nomination to the Leadership Council at councils@globalriskforum.com; selection comes before any contribution.
Experts
Experts and working groups
Find a bounded assignment in a working group or a specialist platform, matched to your competence.
Institutions
Operators, universities and civil society
Join through a constituency council with a contribution plan and declared interests.
Hosts and supporters
Hosts, venues and sponsors
Propose a venue or support at partnerships@globalriskforum.com, under written safeguards: hosting is not ownership and sponsorship is not authority.
Open now: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference. Applications, contributions, computing allocations and event registration open only when their team, terms and review capacity are in place. See what each step creates on Participate and how GRF keeps itself accountable on Governance and trust.
13Questions
Common questions about the Global Risk Forum.
What does Global Risk Forum do?
GRF leads leadership, institutional dialogue and the governance of Nexus Universe, the annual programme of Nexus Consortiums. It convenes councils and dialogues through the year, sets the annual agenda with the other pillar institutions, decides within its instruments which missions the programme admits, and publishes the records of what was agreed and tested.
Is GRF a conference or an events company?
No. GRF is a Swiss association and public-good institution. Convening is one of its tools, but its work is year-round: councils, working groups, documented dialogues and the governance of an annual programme whose results are published with their limits. Events are announced only when a host, date and edition are on record.
Does GRF regulate, fund or certify anything?
No. GRF does not regulate, finance, procure, certify, underwrite, rate, invest or approve projects. Decisions remain with governments, operators and licensed institutions, and finance-readiness questions are led by Global Risk Alliance.
How is GRF related to GCRI and GRA?
They are three separate not-for-profit institutions that lead one programme. GCRI leads research, development and policy research and the Consortium Secretariat. GRF leads leadership, dialogue and the Nexus Universe programme. GRA leads the finance, insurance and development-readiness interface.
What is Nexus Universe, and where is its website?
Nexus Universe is the annual operating, integration, exercise and learning programme: one year of work, one month to build, one week to test and a planned stand-down. It has its own website at universe.nexus. The one-day stage remains a planned stand-down until the annual programme records it, and review and corrections continue afterwards. The GRF gateway explains how GRF governs the programme.
How can my institution take part today?
Write to the Secretariat at contact@therisk.global or to your regional desk. The acknowledgement gives a reference and names the next step. An enquiry is not membership, and applications open only when their terms and review capacity are in place.
Consortium Secretariat
Prepare together, before a crisis tests you.
The Secretariat confirms the right route, the scope of useful work and the conditions for any further step. An enquiry receives a reference; it does not create membership, an appointment or a commitment.
Across the Consortium