GRF · Research Nexus
Global research networks
International collaboration is how research on shared risks is done, and it is governed by agreements between funders, institutions and states, by export control and research security rules, and by the terms partners are able to negotiate. This page sets out how authorised international networks are built and kept open, how security and openness are balanced, and which institutions decide what can be shared, with whom and under what conditions.
Global research networks in seven parts.
- 01The questionGlobal research networks: how the risk develops
- 02IndicatorsWhat is measured, and how well
- 03SourcesWhere the evidence comes from
- 04DecisionsWho decides, and what the evidence serves
- 05Core questionsWhat experts ask about international research networks
- 06MechanismsWhat shapes international collaboration
- 07Methods and limitsPractices for authorised networks
Global research networks: how the risk develops.
Authorised international collaborations. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.
Openness meets security
Concerns over foreign interference, dual-use knowledge and data protection bring new screening, export control and disclosure rules. Applied broadly, they can chill legitimate cooperation and fall unevenly on researchers by nationality.
Geopolitics reroutes ties
Sanctions, conflict and diplomatic shifts suspend agreements and close data flows. Networks reorganise around remaining partners, and shared monitoring of global risks loses coverage where tension is highest.
Capacity is uneven
Partners with less funding, infrastructure or legal support enter agreements on weaker terms. Unless agreements build capacity, collaboration reproduces dependence, and evidence from some regions stays thin.
Mobility is constrained
Visa rules, travel costs and recognition of qualifications shape who can take part. Restrictions on mobility reduce the exchange that sustains trust between research communities across borders.
Hazards and exposure in Europe.
Population density, night lights and flood water over Europe, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 3
Hazards and exposure, for this page
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Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
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Hazards and exposure, framed on Europe.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · U.S. Geological Survey · NOAA GOES-East ABI GeoColorSources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
- VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Live: U.S. Geological Survey Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Live: NOAA GOES-East ABI GeoColor (CIRA). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information 2026; not a flood warning.
- Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Optional layers (11 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
- Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
- Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
- Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
- True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
- Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
What is measured, and how well.
Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.
| Indicator | Unit | Cadence | Source type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International co-authorship | percent of outputs | annual | Bibliometric records | OBSERVED |
| Science and technology cooperation agreements in force | count by partner | annual | Treaty and ministry records | Published statistics |
| Research security guidance and due diligence policies | presence by institution type | periodic | Government and institutional disclosures | DECLARED |
| R&D funded from abroad | percent of gross domestic expenditure on R&D | annual | R&D surveys under the Frascati Manual | Published statistics |
| Membership of international research infrastructures | membership by country | annual | Infrastructure governance records | Published statistics |
| Internationally mobile researchers | researchers by origin and destination | periodic | Surveys and affiliation changes in bibliometric records | ESTIMATED |
Evidence synthesis workspace.
The screen a team would use to follow this subject: its measures, states and decisions. Names are examples and values are illustrative.
Evidence synthesis workspace
Global research networks · Science-policy panel · Synthesis SY-13
- Records found5629
- Screened1368Active
- Included26Normal
- Reviewer agreement0.70kappaNormal
Systematic review
- QuestionPICO
- Protocolregistered
- Search4 databases
- Screentwo reviewers
- Extractform v2
- Appraisecertainty
- Briefpolicy owner
Certainty of evidence
| Reduced losses | 12 | Moderate | Benefit |
| Faster recovery | 7 | Low | Unclear |
| Equity of access | 3 | Very low | Unclear |
Where the evidence comes from.
Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.
| Source | What it gives | Licence class |
|---|---|---|
| UNESCO Institute for Statistics R&D data | Expenditure and personnel, including funding from abroad, for a wide range of countries | Open, CC BY-SA IGO |
| OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators | Comparable series on R&D expenditure, funding source and personnel | Open, attribution under OECD terms |
| Eurostat R&D statistics | R&D expenditure and personnel for European countries by sector and source of funds | Free reuse, attribution |
| OpenAlex | Cross-border co-authorship and affiliation networks | Open, CC0 |
| OECD Global Science Forum reports | Analysis of research security and the governance of international research infrastructures | Free to read, OECD terms |
| UNESCO Science Report | Regional chapters on cooperation, capacity and research policy | Free to read, CC BY-SA IGO |
Exercise a cascade in global research networks with the people who decide.
Assembled from the Nexus Standards area profile Global and systemic risk: the hazards it names, the systems and communities that carry the loss, the controls and institutions that dampen it and the data that observe it. Pick an initiating event and step through the cascade to see where mandates meet and which decisions fall to whom. The Map view places the run on an example geography with open data. Every weight is a stated assumption. An exercise for dialogue, not a forecast, an assessment or a position. To model a place of your own choosing, open the full System Builder.
Hazards
- Dam failure
- Financial contagion
- River flood (set off downstream)
- Flash flood (set off downstream)
- Mass displacement (set off downstream)
- Widespread power outage (set off downstream)
- Water supply shortfall (set off downstream)
- Sovereign debt crisis (set off downstream)
- Currency crisis (set off downstream)
Systems and couplings
- Global and systemic risk
- Compound and cascading hazard standards Mechanism
- Financial stability and prudential risk Mechanism
- Supply chain and trade risk Cascade
- Future generations and long-term risk Common driver
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)NS-14Conformance and crosswalk to external standardsNRS-H120Hazard family: Structural fragility of interconnected systems (NHS-1 sys.fragility)NRS-C6Systemic and cascading riskNRS-H61Hazard family: Cascading failure (NHS-1 sys.cascade)NRS-H62Hazard family: Compound and multi-hazard events (NHS-1 sys.compound)NRS-H94Hazard family: Systemic cyber events (NHS-1 cyber.systemic-cyber)NRS-H60Hazard family: Supply-chain and flow disruption (NHS-1 sys.supply-chain)
Observation
- INFORM Risk Index (listed for reference)
- World Bank Open Data and World Development Indicators API (listed for reference)
- IMF data services (WEO, IFS, FSI via SDMX) (listed for reference)
- Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global GDP
- Macroeconomic Dashboard
Example geography
- Bangladesh: 134 hexagonal cells
- Night lights tonight, outages (VIIRS Day/Night Band), NASA GIBS
- Surface water through cloud, 30 m (OPERA DSWx-S1 radar), NASA GIBS
- Rain rate, last half hour (IMERG), NASA GIBS
- Surface soil moisture (SMAP), NASA GIBS
Who decides, and what the evidence serves.
Research Nexus prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.
| Who decides | The question | Evidence this page serves |
|---|---|---|
| Ministries of science and of foreign affairs | Which science cooperation agreements to sign, renew or suspend | Agreement records; collaboration patterns; dialogue on how suspension affects shared risk monitoring |
| Research security and export control authorities | How to scope screening so it addresses real risks without blanket restriction | Comparative guidance from the OECD and partner governments; reported effects on researchers |
| Research funders | How to fund international partners on fair terms | Agreement terms, evidence on capacity building, lead and partner patterns |
| Universities and research institutes | What due diligence to apply to international partnerships | Institutional guidance and dialogue records from peer institutions |
Outputs this topic produces
- Comparative briefs on research security guidance and its effects on cooperation
- Dialogue records with partners on equitable agreement terms
- Methods seminars on measuring collaboration from bibliometric data
- Peer learning briefs on keeping data sharing open through periods of tension
How global research networks is governed: instruments, mandates and commitments.
The instruments, mandates, actors and accountability arrangements a policymaker, diplomat or development agency works with, citing the agreements that set them. Structures follow the frameworks named. Any state or progress drawn is illustrative, not a record.
Who holds which role
The actors around global research networks: who decides, who implements, who finances and who brings knowledge and voice.
What experts ask about international research networks.
- Which approvals does each partner need, and are they in place before work begins?
- How can data move across borders lawfully and securely?
- How is research security balanced with openness?
- Do networks include researchers from all affected regions, not only those with the most resources?
- How are results shared with the communities and countries where data was collected?
- What happens to shared data and joint outputs if a partner must withdraw because of a change in law or policy?
What shapes international collaboration.
Rules of each partner
Ethics approvals, institutional agreements, data protection and export controls apply in every jurisdiction involved.
Shared knowledge
Open exchange speeds discovery, especially for global risks such as pandemics and climate change.
Research security
Governments increasingly review collaborations in sensitive areas, which can slow or restrict exchange.
Why now: research capacity on risk remains unevenly distributed, and many exposed countries depend on evidence produced elsewhere. Research Nexus convenes networks across regions to compare how evidence is produced and owned, with country institutions setting their own questions.
Practices for authorised networks.
Authorised collaboration has a practical toolkit, refined over decades of international science. Its instruments reduce friction but cannot remove the need for each partner to secure its own approvals.
- 01
Framework agreements
Institutional agreements that set terms for collaboration. Limits: can take a long time to negotiate.
- 02
Federated data analysis
Analysing data where it sits, sharing only results. Limits: technically demanding and limited for some analyses.
- 03
Due diligence
Checking partners, funding and applicable controls. Limits: requirements vary and change.
- 04
Comparative policy review
Comparing research policies across countries, using policy science. Limits: rapid policy change.
How it is studied, and what the methods cannot say.
- 01Policy, institutional and decision scienceComparing science advice systems · Mapping integrity proceduresApplied here
- 02Probability and statisticsBuilding bibliometric indicators · Detecting selective reportingApplied here
- 03Causal inference and impact evaluationEvaluating funder policy changes · Assessing knowledge brokerage schemesApplied here
Questions and answers.
What is research security?
Does research security conflict with open science?
What does authorised mean here?
Does joining a Research Nexus dialogue create a research partnership?
Who checks that a collaboration is authorised?
Why does research security matter?
Can researchers from any country take part in dialogue?
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