The Global Risks Forum (GRF)
GRF · Innovation Nexus
How Innovation Nexus works through the six pillars of one annual programme, led by the Nexus Consortium: built in Foundry, tested in Universe, codified in Nexus Standards, published in Reports and taught on Risk Academy, with the steps of the work cycle as lanes and the owner of each step.
Innovation Nexus works through six pillars of one annual programme, led by the Nexus Consortium, with the Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI), the Global Risks Forum (GRF) and the Global Risks Alliance (GRA) each contributing in its role: explore, experiment and prototype in Labs, build, simulate and prepare in Foundry, convene and test in Universe, codify, correct and apply in Nexus Standards, publish in every format in Reports, teach in the open in Risk Academy.
Programme yearAll phases
Route
The whole programme
Every pillar hands its work to another; together they close the year's feedback loops.
L · F · U · S · R · A
and 14 more
| Pillar | GCRI | GRF | GRA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labs | Runs the experiments: its science and technology teams design prototypes, record the method and publish what failed as well as what worked. | Brings the questions that policy and governance need answered, and admits an experiment to the programme at a recorded gate. | Brings finance questions to test, so a prototype is tried on evidence that financial institutions can read. |
| Foundry | Its science and technical platforms bring the methods, data and evidence that the Foundry builds on. | Admits missions and accepts the build for exercise at a recorded gate, so Foundry work enters the programme on the record. | Brings finance-readiness questions, so builds produce evidence that financial institutions can read. |
| Universe | Its technical office prepares the scientific and data readiness of each mission. | Stewards and governs the programme: the mandate, gates G0 to G7, convening and Action Week. | Runs finance-readiness dialogues on what each mission means for finance and insurance. |
| Standards | GCRI Canada is publisher of record and secretariat; GCRI stewards the evidence, methods, data and open research behind the standards. | Convenes participation and keeps the public record of recognition and standing. | Makes the standards readable to finance and insurance. |
| Reports | Hosts the canonical Reports site and publishes evidence on countries, sectors and methods. | Publishes governance analysis and authorises publication of the year's results at gate G6. | Publishes sector analysis and the finance and insurance readiness series. |
| Academy | Authors courses on methods, data and the Foundry systems, hosted on Risk Academy. | Authors courses on governance, policy and programme roles, hosted on Risk Academy. | Authors courses on finance, insurance and readiness, hosted on Risk Academy. |
| Pillar | Q1 · State and Agenda | Q2 · Evidence and Build | Q3 · Stress Test and Readiness | Q4 · Annual Synthesis and Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labs | Opens the year's experiments on the questions the mandate names | Runs prototypes in short cycles; hands reproducible ones to the Foundry | Tests ideas alongside Action Week; records what failed and why | Writes up every experiment; proposes next year's questions |
| Foundry | Opens cycle projects; National Portfolio baseline | Qualifies sources; one-month controlled build | Runs simulations in Action Week; releases temporary capacity | Supplies data bundles; registers capability gaps |
| Universe | Annual mandate (G0) | Missions admitted (G1), qualified (G2), build accepted (G3) | Action Week (G4), stand-down, evidence sealed (G5) | Publication authorised (G6), renewal (G7) |
| Standards | Routes missions to standards | Composes profiles; validates the build | Monitors conformance; findings become proposals | Council review; adopted changes published |
| Reports | State and Agenda edition | Evidence and Build edition | Stress Test and Readiness edition | Annual Synthesis, the flagship |
| Academy | Pathways open; cohorts enrol | Qualification courses; learning on the build | Exercise assessments; completion records | Course revisions; next cohorts open |
| Step | Innovation question |
|---|---|
| Question | What problem, and is a new tool the answer? |
| Build | Trial protocol and exit conditions |
| Test | Controlled trial or exercise |
| Decide | Adopt, scale, change or stop |
| Renew | Review after adoption |
Universe · Innovation · Week 39 · Example interface, not a record
controlled sessions
Innovation Nexus · Action week. Action week: example names and illustrative values, not a record.
Each step of the cycle in the pillar it runs in; the decision stays with the competent authority, outside the programme.
Process
US bank supervisors revised model risk guidance on April 17, 2026, with Fed SR 26-2 superseding SR 11-7; it sets no enforceable standards.
Outline of an external standard or method, from its public sources. It describes what the framework says, not a record of any run. It does not show that Nexus or any partner performs, certifies or approves a step. A gate is a step of the method, never a Nexus approval. The guidance is expected to be most relevant to banking organisations with over $30 billion in total assets.
| Step | Owner |
|---|---|
| Question | National, regional or institutional priority |
| Evidence | STEM foundation of the platform |
| Build | Foundry |
| Organise | Nexus ecosystem: community, chapters, councils, national cells |
| Test | Universe (independent site) |
| Publish | Reports |
| Decide | Competent authorities and institutions, through NXS-RLS |
| Renew | Corrections and the next annual agenda |
Where all standards are developed, corrected and applied, in the open, with adoption decided by each jurisdiction. For this field: Open Infrastructure and Developers in Standards.
| Area | Nexus Standards |
|---|---|
| Leadership | A Global Standards Council stewards the standards once constituted, with GCRI Canada as secretariat; national councils lead adoption in their own jurisdictions. |
| Strategy | Each candidate mission is routed to the standards and profiles that apply, and gaps found in the year become change proposals. |
| Cadence | Routing in Q1, profile composition and validation in Q2, monitoring in Q3, change proposals through review in Q4, and adopted changes published at renewal. |
| Ownership | Owns UNI identifiers, standards, clauses and profiles, change proposals, national adoption records and conformance evidence. |
| Process | An open track runs from open to community draft, proposed, candidate and adopted; conformance is evidence read under each institution's own rules. |
| Development | Develops standards in the open, with cycle findings entering as change proposals. |
| Simulations | Monitors conformance during exercises and logs deviations against the composed profiles. |
| Reporting | Assigns UNIs to publications and records sealed evidence against the standards it was tested on. |
| Governance | Adoption is final for each jurisdiction, and no global body holds a veto over national adoption. |
| Data and evidence | Every artefact carries a UNI, so evidence can be cited, checked and corrected. |
| Finance and resourcing | Standards documents are published under CC BY 4.0 and their tooling under Apache-2.0. |
| Risk and assurance | A validator report is evidence for review, not a conformance claim; deviations become change proposals. |
| Participation | Anyone can comment and contribute in the open, and national councils adopt or adapt. |
| Communication | Each standard is published with its status and UNI, and a proposed standard is never presented as adopted. |
| Pillar | GCRI | GRF | GRA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standards | GCRI Canada is publisher of record and secretariat; GCRI stewards the evidence, methods, data and open research behind the standards. | Convenes participation and keeps the public record of recognition and standing. | Makes the standards readable to finance and insurance. |
Where everything is taught in the open, in real locations and for impact, by learning on real cycle work. For this field: Faculty of Technology and Digital Systems in Academy.
| Area | Risk Academy |
|---|---|
| Leadership | Course leads and assessors lead learning on real cycle tasks, and the leadership track teaches decision-making under uncertainty, with a mandate and on the record. |
| Strategy | The year's pathways are planned from the missions and from the gaps the previous cycle found. |
| Cadence | Cohorts open at planning, qualification courses run before the build, assessments close after Action Week, and next-cycle cohorts open at renewal. |
| Ownership | Owns learning pathways and courses, cohorts and enrolments, assessment evidence and completion records. |
| Process | Enrol, learn on a real cycle task, be assessed against stated objectives, and leave with a completion record. |
| Development | Develops a course for every system, standard and programme role, revised when cycle findings change what should be taught. |
| Simulations | Uses practice scenarios and exercise roles as the learning task, assessed against stated objectives. |
| Reporting | Teaches evidence classes, review and correction, and learners contribute reviewed sections to an edition. |
| Governance | Risk Academy hosts the courses and the institutions author them; a completion record is not a licence to practise. |
| Data and evidence | Assessment evidence comes from real cycle work and is kept with the task it assessed. |
| Finance and resourcing | Courses on Risk Academy are free, and its finance and economics faculty teaches how finance and insurance read risk evidence. |
| Risk and assurance | Assessed work names its assessor, and performance in a programme role is assessed by an independent evaluator. |
| Participation | Learners take part in reviewing and translating the standards and qualify for roles in the next cycle. |
| Communication | Every course states what it teaches, what it does not confer and where its subject is applied in the Consortium. |
| Pillar | GCRI | GRF | GRA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy | Authors courses on methods, data and the Foundry systems, hosted on Risk Academy. | Authors courses on governance, policy and programme roles, hosted on Risk Academy. | Authors courses on finance, insurance and readiness, hosted on Risk Academy. |
Leadership, strategy, cadence, ownership, process, development, simulations and reporting, with governance, evidence, resourcing, assurance, participation and communication: one sentence per pillar and area.
| Area | Labs | Foundry | Universe | Standards | Reports | Academy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LeadershipWho leads, and on what record. | Each experiment has a named lead and a written question; leading an experiment confers no authority over the decision it informs. | Each build is led by an authorised project with an accountable owner; leadership is technical and never extends to the decision the build informs. | GRF steers the annual programme and records each gate decision from G0 to G7, with dissent kept on the record. | A Global Standards Council stewards the standards once constituted, with GCRI Canada as secretariat; national councils lead adoption in their own jurisdictions. | Series editors lead each edition under the series method; no funder, sponsor or member can buy or block a finding. | Course leads and assessors lead learning on real cycle tasks, and the leadership track teaches decision-making under uncertainty, with a mandate and on the record. |
| StrategyHow the year's priorities are set. | Experiments are chosen for the questions the annual programme cannot answer yet, and retired when they stop teaching anything new. | The build plan follows the National Portfolio and the missions admitted for the year. | National and regional priorities become the year's missions; the annual mandate at gate G0 sets which missions the programme takes on. | Each candidate mission is routed to the standards and profiles that apply, and gaps found in the year become change proposals. | Each country programme agrees the scope of its profile before Q1, and nothing outside that scope is published. | The year's pathways are planned from the missions and from the gaps the previous cycle found. |
| CadenceWhen the work happens in the year. | Experiments run in short cycles inside the annual programme, each closing with a recorded result before the next begins. | Works all year; the controlled build runs for one month in Q2, and measured capacity results are reviewed in Q4. | One year to prepare, one month to build, one week to act and test in Q3, a planned stand-down, then review and renewal in Q4. | Routing in Q1, profile composition and validation in Q2, monitoring in Q3, change proposals through review in Q4, and adopted changes published at renewal. | Quarterly: Q1 State and Agenda, Q2 Evidence and Build, Q3 Stress Test and Readiness, and the Q4 Annual Synthesis as the flagship; an edition is published after review, not to a calendar. | Cohorts open at planning, qualification courses run before the build, assessments close after Action Week, and next-cycle cohorts open at renewal. |
| OwnershipWhich records each pillar owns. | Every prototype carries its owner, its licence and its limits, so it can be handed to the Foundry or retired on the record. | Owns projects and builds, observations and canonical data, simulation and benchmark runs, the National Portfolio record and evidence seals. | Owns the cycle mandate, mission admission decisions, gate decisions, after-action records and the renewal decision. | Owns UNI identifiers, standards, clauses and profiles, change proposals, national adoption records and conformance evidence. | Owns editions and their evidence cutoff, country and regional profiles, technology stream briefs and the correction history. | Owns learning pathways and courses, cohorts and enrolments, assessment evidence and completion records. |
| ProcessHow work moves, step by step. | Question, design, run, record, review: a prototype moves to the Foundry only when its result is reproducible. | Work moves through governed rooms on twenty systems, and every run leaves a record with its limits. | Twelve phases, from planning to renewal, each closed by a gate or a record. | An open track runs from open to community draft, proposed, candidate and adopted; conformance is evidence read under each institution's own rules. | Contribution, editorial review, publication with version history, then challenge and correction as a new version. | Enrol, learn on a real cycle task, be assessed against stated objectives, and leave with a completion record. |
| DevelopmentWhat is developed, and how capacity grows. | New methods, data and tools are developed in the open, with failures kept on the record alongside successes. | Develops the cycle's software, data and environments, and develops each country's National Portfolio. | Develops national demand into admitted, qualified missions, and carries the lessons into the next mandate. | Develops standards in the open, with cycle findings entering as change proposals. | Develops country profiles each quarter, regional profiles twice a year and one exponential technology stream at a time. | Develops a course for every system, standard and programme role, revised when cycle findings change what should be taught. |
| SimulationsHow scenarios and exercises are run and read. | Exploratory simulations test an idea before it is built; they are labelled as experiments, never as findings. | Runs scenarios, experiments and benchmarks with published method and conditions; a simulated capability is not a validated result. | Tests work under exercise control in Action Week with independent evaluators; nothing simulated is reported as observed impact. | Monitors conformance during exercises and logs deviations against the composed profiles. | Publishes scenario findings labelled as modelled, with their uncertainty. | Uses practice scenarios and exercise roles as the learning task, assessed against stated objectives. |
| ReportingHow results reach the public record. | Each experiment is written up with its method, data and limits, and the results feed Reports as working papers. | Supplies the permitted data bundles and sealed observations behind every edition. | Authorises publication of the year's results at gate G6 and supplies after-action and scenario findings. | Assigns UNIs to publications and records sealed evidence against the standards it was tested on. | Publishes every output in every format across its five sites, each edition with sources, limits and corrections. | Teaches evidence classes, review and correction, and learners contribute reviewed sections to an edition. |
| GovernanceWho decides, and what a decision is not. | Labs tries the idea in the open first, with its limits on record, before it is built. | Shared infrastructure made available to the Consortium for public-good purposes; it holds no vote in the governance of the standards. | GRF governs the programme; a cycle gate is a programme decision, not a public-authority approval. | Adoption is final for each jurisdiction, and no global body holds a veto over national adoption. | Publication is not authority: an edition is never a government risk register or a sovereign rating, and countries are never ranked. | Risk Academy hosts the courses and the institutions author them; a completion record is not a licence to practise. |
| Data and evidenceWhere the evidence comes from and how it is kept. | Labs tries the idea in the open first, with its limits on record, before it is built. | Canonical observations and provenance are held in The Global Risks Index (NXS-GRX), and every value carries its source and licence. | Run, decision and observation records from Action Week are sealed at closeout, gate G5. | Every artefact carries a UNI, so evidence can be cited, checked and corrected. | Observed, modelled and estimated evidence stay apart, and each edition states its evidence cutoff. | Assessment evidence comes from real cycle work and is kept with the task it assessed. |
| Finance and resourcingHow work is resourced and made readable to finance. | Labs tries the idea in the open first, with its limits on record, before it is built. | Compute and data allocations open per project when their terms and review capacity exist; temporary capacity is released at stand-down. | Data, people and resource offers are qualified before the build at gate G2; an offer is not an allocation. | Standards documents are published under CC BY 4.0 and their tooling under Apache-2.0. | The Finance and Insurance Readiness and the Portfolio and Readiness series make the evidence readable to finance. | Courses on Risk Academy are free, and its finance and economics faculty teaches how finance and insurance read risk evidence. |
| Risk and assuranceHow errors are caught and limits are stated. | Labs tries the idea in the open first, with its limits on record, before it is built. | Builds are signed and tested for security and interoperability, and accepted for exercise only at gate G3. | Exercise controls and stop-work events keep Action Week controlled, reversible and independently evaluated. | A validator report is evidence for review, not a conformance claim; deviations become change proposals. | Each finding states its method, uncertainty and limits, and reproducible concerns go to the owner of the finding. | Assessed work names its assessor, and performance in a programme role is assessed by an independent evaluator. |
| ParticipationWho takes part, and how. | Labs tries the idea in the open first, with its limits on record, before it is built. | Stakeholders and service providers may establish their presence for non-profit and consortium objectives under the Terms. | Governments, agencies, researchers, finance, civil society and communities take part through missions, tracks and national contributions. | Anyone can comment and contribute in the open, and national councils adopt or adapt. | Researchers and practitioners contribute reviewed findings, and any reader can challenge a finding. | Learners take part in reviewing and translating the standards and qualify for roles in the next cycle. |
| CommunicationHow each pillar speaks in public. | Labs tries the idea in the open first, with its limits on record, before it is built. | Public pages describe each system's purpose and design, and state what it does only as far as its record shows. | Mission themes are presented as proposals until admitted, and confirmed exercises are announced with their gate record. | Each standard is published with its status and UNI, and a proposed standard is never presented as adopted. | Every output is published in accessible formats with its version history. | Every course states what it teaches, what it does not confer and where its subject is applied in the Consortium. |
| Scale | Labs | Foundry | Universe | Standards | Reports | Academy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LocalA place, a site, a system. | Experiments run on real places and systems, with the location and boundary of every result recorded. | Observations and models keep their place: every value carries the location and boundary it was drawn on. | Exercises run on named places and systems, under exercise control. | A UNI identifies each artefact, dataset and site record, so a local finding can be cited and corrected. | Local evidence enters a profile only within the scope its country agreed. | Courses are taught on real locations, so learners work on the place they study. |
| NationalA country programme and its counterparts. | National teams propose experiments for their own questions and keep ownership of their data. | Each country's National Portfolio is developed and tracked. | National demand forms the agenda, and national counterparts own the agenda, data and decisions. | National councils adopt or adapt standards, and adoption is final for each jurisdiction. | Country profiles are updated each quarter, within the scope each country agreed before Q1. | Cohorts are tied to the missions of each national programme. |
| RegionalCountries sharing systems and borders. | Regional experiments compare methods across countries before one is chosen for the Foundry. | Shared systems and cross-border dependencies are modelled across the countries of a region. | Regional programmes contribute missions that cross borders. | Profiles compose the standards that apply across a regional programme's shared systems. | Regional profiles are published twice a year, in Q2 and Q4, and never override a country's own findings. | Pathways are shared across the countries of a region where the same systems are at risk. |
| PlanetaryThe whole Earth system and every jurisdiction. | Planetary experiments test methods against global data, labelled as exploratory until reproduced. | Global data and Earth observation are held with provenance, so planetary pressures can be read alongside national ones. | The annual programme brings national and regional work together once a year. | A Global Standards Council stewards one open set of standards that any jurisdiction may adopt. | The Q4 Annual Synthesis reads country, regional and technology work together, without ranking countries. | Courses are open, so anyone anywhere can learn on the same material. |
Each handoff between pillars is a record with an identifier; read together they close feedback loops, so a finding in one pillar returns as a better build, test, standard, edition or course in the next cycle.
| From \ to | Labs | Foundry | Universe | Standards | Reports | Academy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labs | · | |||||
| Foundry | · | F02 Core Build Report and go or no-go evidence | F13 Validation and monitoring evidence for conformance review | F03 Sealed observations and indicator series behind a profile; F05 National Portfolio movement for chapter 11 | F14 Each system's rooms become a learning-by-doing course | |
| Universe | F01 Admitted mission becomes a cycle project with a decision case | · | F07 Docket items that need a standard or a profile | F04 After-action and scenario findings for chapters 10 and 13 | F10 Assessed cycle tasks become completion evidence | |
| Standards | F08 Composed mission profiles and national adoption records | · | F09 Each adopted standard or profile becomes a course module | |||
| Reports | F12 Q4 synthesis informs the next-year mandate | F06 Method and correction findings as change proposals | · | |||
| Academy | F11 Qualified participants for the next cycle's roles | · |
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