Specialist platforms for governing risk.
The Global Risks Forum (GRF) publishes seven established specialist platforms, and five more are in development at their own addresses. Each is a community of researchers and practitioners who apply named methods to one governance question, from foresight to diplomacy, and publish what they find with its limits.
- 01Established platforms07
- 02Platforms, councils, UniverseKept apart
- 03STEM foundationsOne per platform
- 04Counterparts at GCRI and GRASeven fields
- 05In development05
Councils and Nexus Universe are not platforms · service level R0
The short answer.
GRF specialist sites are the twelve platforms through which GRF works on governance: seven established disciplines, from Research Nexus to Governance Nexus, and five specialist governance communities in development on climate and nature, disaster and crisis, AI and digital systems, health and biosecurity, and information integrity. Each applies named methods to a governance question.
- Established
- 7
- GRF platforms at their live addresses
- In development
- 5
- GRF platforms at their canonical roots
- GRF platforms
- 12
- Governance communities in all
- Whole network
- 63
- GCRI, GRF and GRA: 28 established, 35 in development
Seven communities, one governance purpose.
Each platform has its own thesis, audience and methods. Together they give GRF's councils and dialogues specialist knowledge that persists from one year to the next.
- R01 · EstablishedResearch NexusInstitutional research dialogue, comparative learning and evidence interpretation, without taking over GCRI's scientific publication role. Methods: Decision science · Statistics · Causal inference.
- R02 · EstablishedInnovation NexusGoverned public-interest innovation and cross-sector technology cooperation, oriented to learning that can be demonstrated. Methods: Decision science · AI and machine learning · Systems engineering.
- R03 · EstablishedPolicy NexusPolicy analysis, institutional capacity and cross-border learning on consequential shared risks. Methods: Game theory · Causal inference · Decision analysis.
- R04 · EstablishedForesight NexusStrategic foresight, multiple futures, institutional anticipation and long-horizon public learning. Methods: Scenario design · Forecasting · Complex systems.
- R05 · EstablishedCapital NexusInstitutional dialogue on risk-informed investment policy and public-good readiness, not finance execution. Methods: Macro-finance · Development economics · Decision science.
- R06 · EstablishedDiplomacy NexusScientific, policy and institutional dialogue across jurisdictions on shared global concerns, including water and the commons. Methods: Game theory · Hydrology · Ocean science.
- R07 · EstablishedGovernance NexusComparative governance of institutions and systems exposed to compounding risk and technology change. Methods: Decision analysis · Systems engineering · Decision science.
Fig. 01The GRF specialist network as a directory of platforms.Illustrative interface; placeholder values, not results.
Three different things, deliberately kept apart.
A platform is a specialist community. A council is a participation structure. Nexus Universe is the annual programme. Keeping them distinct means a platform contributor never mistakes their work for a council seat, and a council member never mistakes a seat for a test result.
| Structure | What it is | Who takes part | What it produces | Rhythm | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialist platform | A field community with its own methods and publications | Researchers, practitioners and reviewers in the field | Briefs, methods notes and reviewed analysis | Continuous | Its own address on globalriskforum.com |
| Council | A participation structure for institutions, leaders or experts | Selected institutions and individuals under council rules | Contribution plans, dialogue records and commitments | A structured year | Participate |
| Nexus Universe | The annual operating, exercise and learning programme | Admitted missions, their teams, hosts and evaluators | Exercise, observation and outcome records | One year of work, one month to build, one week to test | Nexus Universe website; GRF gateway |
Evidence for governance, grounded in named methods.
A governance claim is as strong as the method behind it. Each GRF platform is mapped to a foundation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, so a reader can trace a claim to a method, a source and its limits.
| Platform | STEM foundation | Fields it serves |
|---|---|---|
| Research Nexus | Policy, institutional and decision science; probability and statistics; causal inference and impact evaluation | Research and evidence; governance and institutions |
| Innovation Nexus | Policy and decision science; artificial intelligence and machine learning; systems engineering | Innovation; artificial intelligence; industry and robotics |
| Policy Nexus | Policy and decision science; game theory and mechanism design; causal inference; decision analysis under uncertainty | Policy; governance and institutions; risk management and systemic risk |
| Foresight Nexus | Scenario design and stress testing; forecasting; complex systems and agent-based modelling; decision analysis | Foresight; risk management and systemic risk |
| Capital Nexus | Financial economics and macro-finance; development economics; policy and decision science | Development finance; sovereign and public finance; financial stability |
| Diplomacy Nexus | Policy and decision science; game theory; hydrology and water science; ocean and coastal science | Diplomacy and cooperation; water; climate and hazards |
| Governance Nexus | Policy and decision science; decision analysis under uncertainty; systems engineering | Governance and institutions; risk management and systemic risk |
The Nexus cycle, seen from governance
Platform work follows the same cycle as the whole programme. GRF's part is to make sure each step is legitimate, inclusive and owned by someone accountable.
- QuestionInstitutionsA governance question with an accountable owner.
- EvidenceSTEM foundationMethods, sources and limits, with GCRI.
- BuildNexus FoundryScenarios and options in a governed environment.
- OrganizeCouncils · GRFInstitutions, leaders and experts take part.
- TestNexus Universe · GRFSelected work is exercised under control.
- PublishNexus ReportsReviewed findings and corrections.
- DecideCompetent authoritiesDecisions under their own authority.
- RenewNext annual agendaLessons reset next year's priorities.
The same field, seen as science, governance and finance.
Most fields matter to all three pillar institutions in different ways. Where an established platform at GCRI or GRA shares a field with a GRF platform, the two are linked as counterparts. Each keeps its own publisher and voice.
| GRF platform | Counterparts at GCRI | Counterparts at GRA |
|---|---|---|
| Research Nexus | Nexus Labs · Nexus Reports · Nexus Registry | Financial Regulation Nexus |
| Innovation Nexus | Nexus Labs | Private Equity Nexus |
| Policy Nexus | Nexus Registry · Nexus Agency | Financial Regulation Nexus |
| Foresight Nexus | Systemic Risk Management · Systems Science and Modelling (in development) | Financial Stability (in development) |
| Capital Nexus | Nexus Agency | Development Finance Nexus · Sovereign Capital Nexus · Banking Nexus · Capital Markets Nexus |
| Diplomacy Nexus | Water Nexus · Food Nexus · Energy Nexus · Biodiversity Nexus | Insurance Nexus · Asset Management Nexus |
| Governance Nexus | Nexus Registry · Nexus Agency | Financial Regulation Nexus |
The full specialist networks are listed on GCRI's platforms and through GRA membership. Counterparts in development are linked to their canonical roots and marked as such, and each platform lists its full set of counterparts on its own pages.
Five more governance platforms, each at its own address.
Each of these platforms is in development: its pages set out its scope and how it works, and activities, records and services are published as each opens. Until then, each follows the current service level, R0, information and enquiries.
- In developmentClimate and Nature GovernanceInstitutions and policy frameworks responsible for climate, adaptation, nature and transboundary environmental priorities. Methods: Climate and atmospheric science · Ecology and biodiversity science · 3 more.
- In developmentDisaster and Crisis GovernancePublic and private institutional arrangements for crisis readiness, disaster governance and whole-of-society coordination. Methods: Decision analysis under uncertainty · Policy, institutional and decision science · 1 more.
- In developmentAI and Digital GovernanceInstitutional governance of AI and digital systems, including rights, accountability and public technology. Methods: Artificial intelligence and machine learning · AI evaluation and assurance engineering · 2 more.
- In developmentHealth and Biosecurity GovernanceHealth security, pandemic cooperation, One Health and biosafety institutions across borders. Methods: Epidemiology and public health science · Molecular and life sciences · 1 more.
- In developmentInformation Integrity and Public TrustTrust, information quality, media governance and public communication under systemic stress and technological change. Methods: Social and behavioural science · Artificial intelligence and machine learning · 1 more.
Eleven chapters sit inside their home platforms as sub-communities, among them science diplomacy, global commons governance, and energy and critical infrastructure governance, and follow the same service level. A chapter becomes its own site only after a published review.
Contribute to a platform.
Use the published work
Reading needs no account or membership, and corrections are never paywalled.
Write, review or join a working group
Experts contribute through bounded, supervised assignments described on Participate.
Correct a published claim
Anyone can challenge a claim through Governance and trust, without membership or payment.
Terms used on this page.
Each term as this institution uses it on this page.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Specialist platform | A field community on globalriskforum.com with its own methods and publications, published by GRF; it is not a council and not the annual programme. |
| Council | A participation structure for institutions, leaders or experts, run under council rules over a structured year; a seat confers no say in a platform's findings. |
| Counterpart | A platform at GCRI or GRA that shares a field with a GRF platform; the two link to each other and each keeps its own publisher and voice. |
| Chapter | A sub-community inside its home platform, such as science diplomacy, which becomes its own site only after a published review. |
Questions about the specialist network.
Who publishes the GRF platforms?
Is Capital Nexus a source of finance?
How does Research Nexus differ from GCRI's research?
What does "in development" mean?
Is Nexus Universe one of the platforms?
Around the specialist network.
Bring your expertise to a governance question.
The Secretariat names the platform or working group that fits your expertise. An enquiry receives a reference; it does not create membership or an assignment.