(Swiss law; Zug-registered association (Verein), principal base Geneva; global footprint. The Central Bureau (CB) operates as a Swiss non-executive Privy Council. Inter-nexus cooperation proceeds under the Earth Cooperation Treaty (ECT) among GCRI, GRA, NSF, NE Labs, and GRF.)
1.1 Preamble and Mission
(a) Constitution. The Global Risks Forum (“GRF”) is a non-profit association (Verein) within the meaning of Articles 60–79 of the Swiss Civil Code, registered in the Canton of Zug, operating a principal base in Geneva, and maintaining a global footprint consistent with applicable law.
(b) Mission. GRF exists to (i) reduce disaster risk, (ii) strengthen fiscal resilience, and (iii) deliver decision-grade risk intelligence for the public benefit. It advances these aims through evidence-based programs, open and interoperable standards, and structured cooperation across public, private, academic, civic, and community stakeholders.
(c) Institutional posture. GRF is independent and non-partisan. The Central Bureau (CB) functions as a Swiss, non-executive Privy Council—the channeling, compliance, provenance, and operational-continuity authority at Trustees’ level—while Executive Management (EM) executes programs and operations under a Delegation of Authority approved by the Board of Trustees (Vorstand).
(d) Inter-nexus cooperation. Cooperation with GCRI, GRA, NSF, and NE Labs takes place under the Earth Cooperation Treaty (ECT) and is procedurally administered via the CB (single channel; registration; provenance). Such cooperation neither dilutes GRF’s governance autonomy nor alters its independence.
(e) Public-benefit character. GRF pursues activities that yield measurable public benefits and expressly prohibits private inurement or distribution of assets (see Article 20).
1.2 Public-Benefit Purpose (DRR, DRF, DRI)
(a) Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Prevent new risk, reduce existing risk, and strengthen resilience in systems, infrastructure, and communities. Activities include: risk-governance clause libraries; all-hazards early-warning and last-mile protocols; drills and readiness; critical-service continuity targets; and publication of decision-useful practices mapped to recognized international objectives.
(b) Disaster Risk Finance (DRF). Design and adoption of pre-arranged, rules-based financing to protect public balance sheets and vulnerable populations, including contingency funds/credit, insurance and reinsurance (including parametric instruments), payout rails, and fiscal-risk analytics—with defined triggers, time-to-cash targets, basis-risk limits, transparency, and integrity controls.
(c) Disaster Risk Intelligence (DRI). Stewardship of decision-grade intelligence across hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and capacity: multi-source data fusion (EO, in-situ, administrative, alternative), calibration and validation, uncertainty disclosure, and publication of model cards and data QA/QC cards with provenance.
(d) Delivery structure. GRF executes through five tracks—Research, Innovation, Policy, Capital, Foresight—and through regionalization led by Regional Chairs who set 90-day sprints and localize adoption while preserving comparability.
(e) Measurability. Programs adopt Sendai-aligned targets (A–G) and publish quarterly scorecards (methods, baselines, uncertainty); KPI governance and disclosures are further specified in Annexes and Standing Orders.
1.3 Core Principles (Independence, Transparency, Standards)
(a) Independence & neutrality. GRF does not serve or endorse any political party, government, or donor interest and preserves viewpoint neutrality in convenings and publications.
(b) Legality & accountability. Organs act within mandate; material decisions, instruments, and releases are channeled via the CB, recorded in the Council Register, and, where applicable, noticed in the Council Gazette.
(c) Transparency & verifiability. Releases carry provenance hashes, versioning, licensing, QA sign-off, error budgets, and known limitations; related-party interests are declared, managed, and disclosed per policy.
(d) Standards & scientific rigor. Alignment to recognized technical and governance standards (including, as appropriate, ISO/IEC/OGC/WMO/IEEE). Methods prioritize reproducibility, independent review, and red-teaming for high-impact models.
(e) Sendai orientation. Program design and reporting are mapped to internationally recognized disaster-risk targets A–G (mortality, affected population, economic loss, critical infrastructure/basic services, early-warning coverage/quality, cooperation, policies/strategies) with jurisdiction-level comparability.
(f) Inclusion & safeguards. Equitable participation and access (including accessibility and language accommodations), with attention to vulnerable and marginalized groups; do-no-harm and human-rights due-diligence principles apply to field work, data practices, and automation.
(g) Privacy, security & ethics. Personal data handling complies with Swiss FADP and, where applicable, GDPR/UK GDPR; DPIAs/PIAs, role-based access, encryption, retention schedules, and breach notification are mandatory. Model/data ethics and safety are embedded across the lifecycle.
(h) Subsidiarity & localization. Decisions are taken as close as practicable to affected stakeholders; Regional Chairs and National Working Groups adapt standards/tools to local context while preserving comparability and auditability.
(i) Integrity of process. CB Clearance is required for material actions as defined in Article 12 (condition precedent), ensuring legal capacity, conflicts screening, sanctions/KYC (where applicable), continuity safeguards, and accurate records.
(j) Continuous improvement. KPIs, controls, and methods are periodically reviewed; lessons learned are codified in Standing Orders and public guidance; retrospective analyses are published where safe and lawful.
1.4 Technology, Data & Safety Commitments (Future-Proofing)
(a) Technology neutrality & interoperability. GRF adopts a technology-neutral posture. Architectures and tooling must be interoperable, standards-compliant, and replaceable without material loss of function; vendor lock-in is avoided.
(b) Data governance by design. All DRI/DRR/DRF data flows are governed by written data-lifecycle controls (classification, lineage, access, retention/destruction) and provenance logging sufficient for audit and reproducibility.
(c) Model risk management. High-impact or safety-critical models require model cards, testing and calibration documentation, uncertainty quantification, change logs, rollback plans, and periodic independent review or red-team.
(d) AI safety & human oversight. Automated decision support remains human-in-the-loop for activation and resource-allocation thresholds unless expressly authorized by policy with compensating controls.
(e) Open knowledge preference. GRF favors open standards and open licenses for methods, benchmarks, and non-sensitive artifacts, subject to law, safety, licensing, and third-party rights.
(f) Export controls & dual-use. Activities involving cryptography, sensing, or advanced analytics comply with Swiss/EU/other applicable export-control and dual-use regimes; the CB maintains checklists and clearance steps.
(g) Environmental sustainability. Technology choices consider energy efficiency, carbon intensity, and environmental externalities; where feasible, GRF prefers low-emission compute and data-center footprints.
1.5 Scope of Activities & Limitations
(a) Permitted activities. Convening; research and development; training and capacity building; publication and open toolkits; field pilots and drills; advisory and policy support; financial-instrument design and term sheets; data/model curation and release; accreditation and protocol for events and data rooms.
(b) Advocacy boundaries. GRF may engage in evidence-based policy dialogue related to DRR/DRF/DRI but shall not conduct partisan political activity, campaign interventions, or lobbying beyond what is lawful, proportionate, and disclosed.
(c) Funding neutrality. Acceptance of restricted funds requires Trustee approval and CB Clearance with public disclosure (see Article 14); no donor may direct outcomes contrary to independence principles.
(d) No private benefit. No part of earnings inures to private persons other than reasonable compensation and reimbursements; upon dissolution, asset-lock applies (Article 20).
(e) Geographic reach & compliance. Cross-border operations comply with host-state mandatory law; internal governance remains governed by this Instrument; conflicts are resolved per Articles 18 and 21.
(f) Child/vulnerable-person protection. Activities involving children or vulnerable persons adhere to safeguarding policies, background screening, and incident reporting obligations maintained by the CB.
(g) Sanctions/KYC/AML. Counterparties and financial flows are screened per SECO/EU/OFAC and applicable AML frameworks, with risk-based due diligence overseen by the CB.
1.6 Impact, Measurement & Public Reporting
(a) KPIs & scorecards. Each program maintains Sendai-aligned KPIs with baselines, targets, uncertainty, and data sources; quarterly scorecards are published with CB provenance.
(b) Independent assurance. Financial statements are audited; program metrics and high-impact releases may be subject to independent evaluation or technical audit at intervals set by the Trustees.
(c) Public interest disclosures. Material methodologies, assumptions, and limitations are disclosed proportionate to risk and legal constraints; exceptions (security, privacy, contractual) are registered with the CB.
(d) Beneficiary feedback. Structured feedback channels for affected communities and stakeholders inform iterative improvements; summaries are reported annually.
1.7 Adaptation & Mission-Lock (Future-Proofing)
(a) Adaptive standards. The Trustees may, on LC recommendation and subject to CB process, adopt updated standards, taxonomies, or measurement frameworks where necessary to preserve interoperability and scientific rigor.
(b) Mission-lock. Amendments that would materially alter the public-benefit purpose (DRR/DRF/DRI) require a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly upon Trustees’ recommendation, with reasons recorded in the Council Register.
(c) Severability & survival. If any part of Article 1 is held invalid, the remainder continues in force; measurement, transparency, and independence provisions survive any structural changes.
(d) Review cycle. Article 1 is reviewed at least every three (3) years; proposed changes follow Article 21 and must include an impact assessment recorded by the CB.