> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.therisk.global/organization/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.therisk.global/organization/governance-in-operation.md). # GOVERNANCE IN OPERATION How the Nexus programme is governed from the global to the local level: the bodies at each level, what each may and may not decide, and how decisions stay with the competent authorities. **Where this fits.** Institutions › how they work together · all six pillars · all levels, global to local · every phase of the programme year · canonical page. {% hint style="info" %} **Status.** This part describes the governance as designed and as stated on the GCRI, GRF and GRA sites. Every body below the three institutions is designed or in formation. No national programme is recorded as constituted or active, and the current service level is R0, information and enquiries ([Programme status](https://therisk.global/consortium/programme-status/)). The [Nexus Standards](/organization/institutions/nexus-standards.md) bodies are proposed and await ratification by the Global Standards Council. {% endhint %} ## In brief The Nexus programme is governed through **Nexus Consortiums**: "an organizing architecture, not one legal person or one membership club" ([How Nexus Consortium works](https://therisk.global/consortium/)). Three independent not-for-profit institutions lead it, each in one role. GCRI is Consortium Secretariat and provides evidence and methods, with GCRI Canada as Lead Institution and lead contracting organization. [The Global Risks Forum](/organization/institutions/grf.md) (GRF) leads leadership, dialogue and the governance of the [Nexus Universe](/organization/programme/universe.md) programme. [The Global Risks Alliance](/organization/institutions/gra.md) (GRA) leads finance, insurance and development readiness. The work happens at four levels: * **Global:** shared methods, the annual cycle and publication. * **Regional:** systems that cross borders. * **National:** National Nexus, the country programme. * **Local:** places, communities and sites. Levels nest by **subsidiarity**. A question is taken at the lowest level that can answer it, and no upper level overrides a national council on a national question ([Council architecture](https://globalriskforum.com/leadership/council-model/)). Throughout, **the programme informs and the competent authority decides**. Governments, operators and licensed institutions keep every public, regulatory, financial and operational decision.
Four levels. Global: the Nexus Consortium, led by three independent not-for-profit institutions (GCRI, with GCRI Canada as Lead Institution, Consortium Secretariat and lead contracting organization; GRF for leadership, dialogue and Nexus Universe governance; GRA for finance, insurance and development readiness), the global programme of shared methods, the annual cycle and publication, and global councils in formation; it never sets a national agenda. Regional: six programme regions and fifteen planned hubs, which are coordination roles and never offices, and Regional Nexus Consortiums that compare evidence on shared systems without binding a country; all in formation. National: National Nexus, the country programme, with a National Desk, a National Model and a National Portfolio, and three participation pillars, the National Nexus Consortium of institutions, through six Helix councils (SPC, IOC, ARC, CMC, CIC and the cross-cutting FIR pathway), the National Leadership Council of individuals in personal capacity and the National Working Groups of experts by competence; the National Standards Council, the standards function of the National Nexus Consortium, decides national adoption of the Nexus Standards. Local: subnational and city programmes, communities and rights-holders, host institutions and working-group assignments. Two cross-cutting columns: the Nexus Standards governance, where the Global Standards Council decides global adoption and national councils decide national adoption, neither deciding for the other; and the competent authorities, outside the programme, who alone take public, regulatory, financial and operational decisions.

Global to local: who works at each level, and who decides. Levels nest by subsidiarity: a question is taken at the lowest level that can answer it, and no upper level overrides a national council on a national question. Every body shown is designed or in formation; no national programme is recorded as constituted or active (service level R0). Source: therisk.global/consortium/ (How Nexus Consortium works, Global programme, Six programme regions, National Nexus); globalriskforum.com/leadership/council-model/; Nexus Standards governance register (PROPOSED). As of 2026-10-21.

Figure data (text alternative) | Element | Description | | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Nexus Consortium | An organizing architecture, not one legal person | | GCRI | Secretariat, evidence, methods; GCRI Canada contracts | | GRF | Leadership, dialogue, Nexus Universe governance | | GRA | Finance, insurance and development readiness | | Global programme | Shared priorities, common methods, the annual cycle | | Global councils | In formation; constitution published once adopted | | Six programme regions | All in formation | | Fifteen planned hubs | Coordination roles, never offices; none operating | | Regional Nexus Consortiums and councils | Compare evidence on shared systems; in formation | | National Desk | Routing, cadence, records; no public authority | | National Model | Systems, dependencies, evidence, uncertainty | | National Portfolio | Risks, capabilities, projects, readiness and handoffs | | NNC | Institutions, through six Helix councils; its NSC adopts standards | | NLC | Leaders, in personal capacity | | NWG | Experts by competence; no fee | | Subnational and city programmes | Within the national programme | | Communities and rights-holders | On their own terms, with withdrawal conditions | | Host institutions and assignments | Rooms, data, pilots and bounded tasks; no authority over content | | Nexus Standards governance | Global Standards Council decides global adoption; each National Standards Council decides national adoption; neither decides for the other (PROPOSED) | | Competent authorities | Outside the programme. Governments, operators and licensed institutions alone decide and execute |
## The levels at a glance | Level | Bodies | What it does | What it never does | Page | | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Global | The Nexus Consortium; GCRI, GRF, GRA; the global programme; global councils (in formation) | Shared research priorities, common methods, the annual cycle, learning across countries and publication | Set a national agenda; rank countries; act as a government or intergovernmental body | [The global level](/organization/governance-in-operation/global-level.md) | | Regional | Six programme regions; fifteen planned hubs; Regional Nexus Consortiums and regional councils (in formation) | Compare compatible evidence on shared basins, grids, corridors and health systems | Bind a country; merge national data or authority; operate an office | [Regions and hubs](/organization/governance-in-operation/regions-and-hubs.md) | | National | National Nexus: National Desk, National Model, National Portfolio; NNC, NLC, NWG; the National Standards Council | Hold the national agenda, data and decisions; run the country programme | Claim public authority; speak for a government unless that government says so in a record | [National Nexus](/organization/governance-in-operation/national-nexus.md) | | Local | Subnational and city programmes; communities and rights-holders; host institutions; working-group assignments | Bring place-based knowledge, sites and bounded expert work into the national programme | Turn a city relationship into national representation | [National Working Groups](/organization/governance-in-operation/nwg.md) | ## Five rules that hold at every level 1. **National ownership precedes federation.** "Competent National Nexus structures hold the national agenda and local participation" ([National Nexus](https://therisk.global/consortium/national/)). A country may decline participation or data sharing at any stage. 2. **Each decision has exactly one decider.** Proposing, consulting, performing and being informed are recorded separately from deciding. See [Decision rights](/organization/governance-in-operation/decision-rights.md). 3. **No payment buys office.** Selection comes before any contribution. Institutional membership does not create a council seat. Ordinary participation in a working group has no fee. See [Councils](/organization/governance-in-operation/councils.md). 4. **States move only on a record.** Exploration, in formation, constituted, active, paused, closed and historical are explicit states. A state is never upgraded for publicity. See [Status and service levels](/organization/governance-in-operation/status-and-service-levels.md). 5. **Gates are programme decisions.** A Nexus Universe gate (G0 to G7) "is a programme decision. It is not a public-authority approval, a certification or a deployment authorisation" (pillar boundary, [The programme year](/organization/programme/the-programme-year.md)). These rules follow the international practice for systemic risk governance. The Sendai Framework names "strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk" as its second priority, at national, regional and global levels (UN General Assembly, 2015). The OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Critical Risks (OECD, 2014) asks for an all-hazards and transboundary approach in which responsibilities are clear and shared between governments and operators. ## Who answers for what The sites publish the same division of accountability ([Board and governance](https://therisk.global/about/board-and-governance/); [GRF in the Consortium](https://globalriskforum.com/about/consortium-role/)): | Function | Accountable party | | --------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | Integrated consortium secretariat | GCRI Canada, within the approved lead mandate | | Evidence, methods and technical assistance | GCRI, within agreed scopes and rights | | Leadership, convening and Nexus Universe governance | GRF, within its instruments | | Finance, insurance and development readiness | GRA | | National agenda and local participation | Competent National Nexus structures | | Scientific and editorial acceptance | Qualified, conflict-managed reviewers and the publisher | | Decisions and execution | The relevant government, operator or licensed institution | ## Pages in this part | Page | What it covers | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [The global level](/organization/governance-in-operation/global-level.md) | The Nexus Consortium, the three institutions and the documents that pass between them | | [Regions and hubs](/organization/governance-in-operation/regions-and-hubs.md) | Six programme regions, fifteen planned hubs and the Regional Nexus Consortiums | | [National Nexus](/organization/governance-in-operation/national-nexus.md) | The country programme: Desk, Model, Portfolio and formation | | [National Nexus Consortium (NNC)](/organization/governance-in-operation/nnc.md) | Institutional participation through constituency councils | | [National Leadership Council (NLC)](/organization/governance-in-operation/nlc.md) | Leadership in personal capacity and the Year-One Gateway | | [National Working Groups (NWG)](/organization/governance-in-operation/nwg.md) | Expert work by competence, and the six domain response teams | | [Councils](/organization/governance-in-operation/councils.md) | Council architecture, design defaults and the earlier labels they replace | | [National Standards Council](/organization/governance-in-operation/national-standards-council.md) | National adoption of the Nexus Standards | | [Decision rights](/organization/governance-in-operation/decision-rights.md) | Who decides each programme and standards decision | | [A national mission](/organization/governance-in-operation/a-national-mission.md) | One illustrative mission from mandate (G0) to renewal (G7) | | [Status and service levels](/organization/governance-in-operation/status-and-service-levels.md) | States, evidence labels, offerings and service levels | | [Reader's guide to the instruments](/organization/governance-in-operation/instruments-readers-guide.md) | The charters, bylaws and statutes, and where current rules live | How evidence reaches finance without the programme becoming a financier is set out in [Finance readiness](/organization/finance-readiness.md). ## Earlier texts The deep doctrine on consortiums, councils and national structures remains in the Cooperation and Organization parts. Its depth is kept, and it is being aligned with this part. Where it differs, this part and the sites it cites govern: * [Consortiums model](/organization/cooperation/consortiums/model.md) * [National Nexus Consortium (definition 2.19)](/organization/organization/architecture/ii.-definitions/xix.-national-nexus-consortium-nnc.md) * [Regional Nexus Consortium (definition 2.20)](/organization/organization/architecture/ii.-definitions/xx.-regional-nexus-consortium-rnc.md) * [Governance structure of GCRI](/organization/organization/governance/structure.md), which concerns GCRI's own corporate bodies ## Sources * OECD (2014). *Recommendation of the Council on the Governance of Critical Risks*. OECD/LEGAL/0405. [legalinstruments.oecd.org](https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0405) * UN General Assembly (2015). *Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030*. A/RES/69/283. [undrr.org](https://www.undrr.org/publication/sendai-framework-disaster-risk-reduction-2015-2030) * GCRI: [How Nexus Consortium works](https://therisk.global/consortium/); [National Nexus](https://therisk.global/consortium/national/); [Programme status](https://therisk.global/consortium/programme-status/); [Board and governance](https://therisk.global/about/board-and-governance/). * GRF: [Council architecture](https://globalriskforum.com/leadership/council-model/); [GRF in the Consortium](https://globalriskforum.com/about/consortium-role/). * Every external source cited in this documentation: [Sources library](/organization/reference/sources.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. 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