> 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/programme/universe.md). # Nexus Universe Nexus Universe, the annual programme of the Nexus Consortium governed by The Global Risks Forum: where missions are admitted, built, tested in Action Week and renewed, through gates G0 to G7. *Where this fits: applied response. Pillar: Nexus Universe. Institutions: GRF (steward), GCRI (technical office), GRA (finance-readiness track). Phases: all twelve; gates G0 to G7. Kind: pillar page.* **In brief.** Nexus Universe is the annual programme of the Nexus Consortium, stewarded by [The Global Risks Forum](/organization/institutions/grf.md) (GRF). Priorities become missions; missions are prepared over a year, built in a month, tested in one Action Week and stood down in a day, and their findings set the next year's mandate. GRF describes it as "a proving programme, not an event" ([Nexus Universe at GRF](https://globalriskforum.com/nexus-universe/)). It records the eight gates of the year, G0 to G7, each a programme decision about the cycle and never an approval by a public authority. No cycle has yet run; the programme is at service level R0. Its own home is [universe.nexus](https://universe.nexus/), where the Nexus Universe application is being prepared for launch. > **Boundary.** "A cycle gate is a programme decision. It is not a public-authority approval, a certification or a deployment authorisation."
Nexus Universe on the hexagon of the six pillars, with the pillars it hands work to or receives work from selected, every handoff among those pillars, and the phases of the programme year in which recorded handoffs happen. Pillars it exchanges no work with are shown unselected.

Nexus Universe in the programme. A designed programme cycle, not a record of operation. Handoff identifiers F01 to F14 and R1 to R4 as in the sites' pillar model. Source: the sectors and pillars model published on the GCRI, GRF and GRA home pages, vendored and hash-pinned in tools/figures/vendor/nexus-model. As of 2026-10-21.

Figure data (text alternative) | Element | Kind | Description | Value | | --------------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------- | | F01 | Handoff in play | Universe to Foundry: Admitted mission becomes a cycle project with a decision case | Readiness preparation | | F02 | Handoff in play | Foundry to Universe: Core Build Report and go or no-go evidence | Controlled build | | F03 | Handoff | Foundry to Reports: Sealed observations and indicator series behind a profile | Closeout | | F04 | Handoff in play | Universe to Reports: After-action and scenario findings for chapters 10 and 13 | After-action review | | F05 | Handoff | Foundry to Reports: National Portfolio movement for chapter 11 | After-action review | | F06 | Handoff | Reports to Standards: Method and correction findings as change proposals | Correction | | F07 | Handoff in play | Universe to Standards: Docket items that need a standard or a profile | Docket review | | F08 | Handoff | Standards to Foundry: Composed mission profiles and national adoption records | Readiness preparation | | F09 | Handoff | Standards to Academy: Each adopted standard or profile becomes a course module | Renewal | | F10 | Handoff in play | Universe to Academy: Assessed cycle tasks become completion evidence | Closeout | | F11 | Handoff in play | Academy to Universe: Qualified participants for the next cycle's roles | Renewal | | F12 | Handoff in play | Reports to Universe: Q4 synthesis informs the next-year mandate | Renewal | | F13 | Handoff | Foundry to Standards: Validation and monitoring evidence for conformance review | Controlled build | | F14 | Handoff | Foundry to Academy: Each system's rooms become a learning-by-doing course | Planning | | R1 | Handoff | Standards to Reports: Applied in editions | Around the ring | | R2 | Handoff | Reports to Academy: Taught in the open | Around the ring | | R3 | Handoff | Academy to Labs: Questions become experiments | Around the ring | | R4 | Handoff | Labs to Foundry: Tested prototypes are built | Around the ring | | Labs | Pillar | Explore, experiment and prototype | – | | Foundry | Pillar | Build, simulate and prepare | in this route | | Universe | Pillar | Convene and test | in this route | | Standards | Pillar | Codify, correct and apply | in this route | | Reports | Pillar | Publish in every format | in this route | | Academy | Pillar | Teach in the open | in this route | | Planning | Phase (Q1, G0) | F14 Each system's rooms become a learning-by-doing course | 1 handoff(s) | | Readiness preparation | Phase (Q2, G2) | F01 Admitted mission becomes a cycle project with a decision case; F08 Composed mission profiles and national adoption records | 2 handoff(s) | | Controlled build | Phase (Q2, G3) | F02 Core Build Report and go or no-go evidence; F13 Validation and monitoring evidence for conformance review | 2 handoff(s) | | Closeout | Phase (Q3, G5) | F03 Sealed observations and indicator series behind a profile; F10 Assessed cycle tasks become completion evidence | 2 handoff(s) | | After-action review | Phase (Q3) | F04 After-action and scenario findings for chapters 10 and 13; F05 National Portfolio movement for chapter 11 | 2 handoff(s) | | Correction | Phase (Q4) | F06 Method and correction findings as change proposals | 1 handoff(s) | | Docket review | Phase (Q4) | F07 Docket items that need a standard or a profile | 1 handoff(s) | | Renewal | Phase (Q4, G7) | F09 Each adopted standard or profile becomes a course module; F11 Qualified participants for the next cycle's roles; F12 Q4 synthesis informs the next-year mandate | 3 handoff(s) |
## How Nexus Universe works **GRF's four decisions.** GRF holds four kinds of decision: the annual mandate (G0), the admission of missions (G1), the gate decisions through the year, and the authorisation of publication (G6). It holds them in the manner of exercise direction, separate from the controllers who run an exercise and the evaluators who judge it ([Programme governance](https://globalriskforum.com/nexus-universe/grf-role/)), the separation recommended for simulation exercises by the [WHO Simulation Exercise Manual (2017)](https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-WHE-CPI-2017.10). The steward of the programme is therefore never also the judge of its results. **GCRI's technical office.** GCRI runs the technical office of the programme: scoping, qualification, the Core build, support during the exercise, evidence capture and closeout ([technical office](https://therisk.global/programmes/nexus-universe/)). The technical office prepares the scientific and data readiness of each mission. **GRA's finance-readiness track.** GRA runs the finance-readiness track of Action Week, with exercise injects such as a parametric trigger being crossed or a sovereign spread widening, so that finance and insurance institutions can see what a mission means for them without any transaction taking place ([Universe finance-readiness](https://globalriskalliance.com/engagement/nexus-universe/)). Readiness evidence is not a financing decision. **Action Week.** The week of controlled exercise runs in ten tracks, generated below from the programme spine. Independent evaluators assess each exercise against its stated objectives, and nothing simulated is reported as observed impact. | Track | Name | | ----- | ------------------------------------------- | | 1 | Scientific methods and data | | 2 | Sovereign compute and network integration | | 3 | Sector and country missions | | 4 | Frontier technology evaluation | | 5 | Public-authority learning | | 6 | Leadership and policy deliberation | | 7 | Finance and insurance readiness | | 8 | Academy and workforce | | 9 | Rights-holder and public-interest challenge | | 10 | Public evidence and communication | **Contributed capacity.** Data, compute, people and facilities offered to a mission pass through seven states: offered, qualified, reserved, allocated, accessible, measured and accepted. Capacity is counted only once it is measured and accepted. **The website.** GRF and GCRI describe an independent Nexus Universe website. At the time of writing that site is not yet live, and the programme is described on [Nexus Universe at GRF](https://globalriskforum.com/nexus-universe/) and the [GRF annual operating cycle](https://globalriskforum.com/nexus-universe/annual-cycle/). ## The pillar in the model The tables in this section are generated from the sites' pillar model, so they match the GCRI, GRF and GRA home pages. ### At a glance What the pillar does, the records it owns, the boundary it keeps and where it is published. | | | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Does | Sets the annual mandate and admits missions; Runs readiness, the controlled build and Action Week; Stands down temporary capacity and seals evidence; Reviews the year and renews the mandate | | Records it owns | Cycle mandate; Mission admission decisions; Gate decisions G0 to G7; After-action records; Renewal decision | | Boundary | A cycle gate is a programme decision. It is not a public-authority approval, a certification or a deployment authorisation. | | Public home | [universe.nexus](https://universe.nexus/) | | On the institutions' sites | [GCRI: Nexus Universe technical office](https://therisk.global/programmes/nexus-universe/) · [GRF: Nexus Universe at GRF](https://globalriskforum.com/nexus-universe/) · [GRA: Universe finance-readiness programme](https://globalriskalliance.com/engagement/nexus-universe/) | | Further pages | [Nexus Universe technical office](https://therisk.global/programmes/nexus-universe/) · [Nexus Universe at GRF](https://globalriskforum.com/nexus-universe/) · [Universe finance-readiness programme](https://globalriskalliance.com/engagement/nexus-universe/) | ### Handoffs The handoffs this pillar sends and receives. Recorded handoffs (F01 to F14) happen in a named phase; ring handoffs (R1 to R4) run continuously. | Id | Direction | Phase | What moves | | --- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | F01 | To [Foundry](/organization/programme/foundry.md) | Readiness preparation | Admitted mission becomes a cycle project with a decision case | | F02 | From [Foundry](/organization/programme/foundry.md) | Controlled build | Core Build Report and go or no-go evidence | | F04 | To [Nexus Reports](/organization/programme/reports.md) | After-action review | After-action and scenario findings for chapters 10 and 13 | | F07 | To [Nexus Standards](/organization/programme/standards.md) | Docket review | Docket items that need a standard or a profile | | F10 | To [Risk Academy](/organization/programme/academy.md) | Closeout | Assessed cycle tasks become completion evidence | | F11 | From [Risk Academy](/organization/programme/academy.md) | Renewal | Qualified participants for the next cycle's roles | | F12 | From [Nexus Reports](/organization/programme/reports.md) | Renewal | Q4 synthesis informs the next-year mandate | ### Through the year What the pillar does in each quarter and in each phase of the programme year. | Quarter | Edition | What this pillar does | | ------- | ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | Q1 | State and Agenda | Annual mandate (G0) | | Q2 | Evidence and Build | Missions admitted (G1), qualified (G2), build accepted (G3) | | Q3 | Stress Test and Readiness | Action Week (G4), stand-down, evidence sealed (G5) | | Q4 | Annual Synthesis and Renewal | Publication authorised (G6), renewal (G7) | | Phase | Quarter | Gate | Work in this phase | | --------------------- | ------- | ---- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Planning | Q1 | G0 | Forms the agenda from national demand and authorises the annual mandate. | | Readiness preparation | Q2 | G2 | Admits missions (G1) and qualifies data, people and resources (G2). | | Controlled build | Q2 | G3 | Assembles the Core and holds the go or no-go decision for the exercise. | | Action Week | Q3 | G4 | Runs controlled exercises across the Action Week tracks with independent evaluators. | | Stand-down | Q3 | – | Stops new work and checkpoints authorised jobs. | | Closeout | Q3 | G5 | Records unresolved exceptions with accountable owners. | | After-action review | Q3 | – | Reviews what worked, what failed and what was not tested, preserving dissent. | | Reporting | Q4 | G6 | Authorises publication of the year's results. | | Correction | Q4 | – | Routes reproducible concerns to the owner of the finding. | | Docket review | Q4 | – | Reviews the year's dockets and routes items to their owners. | | Network review | Q4 | – | Reviews shared computing and network performance for the year. | | Renewal | Q4 | G7 | Reviews renewal and sets the next cycle's mandate. | ### At each scale What the pillar does locally, nationally, regionally and at planetary scale. | Scale | What this pillar does at that scale | | --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Local | Exercises run on named places and systems, under exercise control. | | National | National demand forms the agenda, and national counterparts own the agenda, data and decisions. | | Regional | Regional programmes contribute missions that cross borders. | | Planetary | The annual programme brings national and regional work together once a year. | ### In each operating area The fourteen operating areas the programme answers for, as this pillar answers them. | Area | Question | For this pillar | | ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Leadership | Who leads, and on what record. | GRF steers the annual programme and records each gate decision from G0 to G7, with dissent kept on the record. | | Strategy | How the year's priorities are set. | National and regional priorities become the year's missions; the annual mandate at gate G0 sets which missions the programme takes on. | | Cadence | When the work happens in the year. | 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. | | Ownership | Which records each pillar owns. | Owns the cycle mandate, mission admission decisions, gate decisions, after-action records and the renewal decision. | | Process | How work moves, step by step. | Twelve phases, from planning to renewal, each closed by a gate or a record. | | Development | What is developed, and how capacity grows. | Develops national demand into admitted, qualified missions, and carries the lessons into the next mandate. | | Simulations | How scenarios and exercises are run and read. | Tests work under exercise control in Action Week with independent evaluators; nothing simulated is reported as observed impact. | | Reporting | How results reach the public record. | Authorises publication of the year's results at gate G6 and supplies after-action and scenario findings. | | Governance | Who decides, and what a decision is not. | GRF governs the programme; a cycle gate is a programme decision, not a public-authority approval. | | Data and evidence | Where the evidence comes from and how it is kept. | Run, decision and observation records from Action Week are sealed at closeout, gate G5. | | Finance and resourcing | How work is resourced and made readable to finance. | Data, people and resource offers are qualified before the build at gate G2; an offer is not an allocation. | | Risk and assurance | How errors are caught and limits are stated. | Exercise controls and stop-work events keep Action Week controlled, reversible and independently evaluated. | | Participation | Who takes part, and how. | Governments, agencies, researchers, finance, civil society and communities take part through missions, tracks and national contributions. | | Communication | How each pillar speaks in public. | Mission themes are presented as proposals until admitted, and confirmed exercises are announced with their gate record. | ### Applied to the eight contexts How the pillar would apply to each teaching context of the model, and the measure it would answer for. These are illustrative applications, not delivered projects. | Context | Illustrative application | Measure | Applied | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ------- | | [Urban flood](/organization/model/scenarios/urban-flood.md) | Exercise: keep water and power running through a 1-in-100 flood | Hours to restore (lower is better) | yes | | [Hydropower reservoir](/organization/model/scenarios/hydropower.md) | Release-rule exercise with operators and downstream users | Users at the table (higher is better) | – | | [Drought](/organization/model/scenarios/drought.md) | Early-action exercise with water and agriculture ministries | Days from trigger to action (lower is better) | yes | | [Heatwave](/organization/model/scenarios/heatwave.md) | Heat action plan exercise with health and grid operators | Alert-to-action hours (lower is better) | yes | | [Grid blackout](/organization/model/scenarios/blackout.md) | Black-start exercise across utilities and hospitals | Hours to restore (lower is better) | yes | | [Pandemic](/organization/model/scenarios/pandemic.md) | Continuity exercise across health, energy and food | Services kept running (higher is better) | yes | | [Pollinator decline](/organization/model/scenarios/pollinator.md) | Landscape mission with farmers and conservation agencies | Hectares in the mission (higher is better) | – | | [Coastal storm surge](/organization/model/scenarios/storm-surge.md) | Evacuation and port-recovery exercise | Days to reopen port (lower is better) | yes | ### The institutions in this pillar What GCRI, GRF and GRA each contribute. | Institution | Contribution | | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | GCRI | Its technical office prepares the scientific and data readiness of each mission. | | GRF | Stewards and governs the programme: the mandate, gates G0 to G7, convening and Action Week. | | GRA | Runs finance-readiness dialogues on what each mission means for finance and insurance. | ## Read further * [Programme](/organization/programme.md): the six pillars together. * [The programme year](/organization/programme/the-programme-year.md): every phase, gate and actor. * [The Nexus cycle](/organization/programme/the-nexus-cycle.md): from a question to renewal, and who decides. * [The model](/organization/model.md): coupled risk and applied response. ## Sources * GRF, [Nexus Universe at GRF](https://globalriskforum.com/nexus-universe/), [Programme governance](https://globalriskforum.com/nexus-universe/grf-role/) and [annual operating cycle](https://globalriskforum.com/nexus-universe/annual-cycle/), as of 2026-10-21. * GCRI, [Nexus Universe technical office](https://therisk.global/programmes/nexus-universe/) and [Programme status](https://therisk.global/consortium/programme-status/). * GRA, [Universe finance-readiness programme](https://globalriskalliance.com/engagement/nexus-universe/). * World Health Organization (2017). [Simulation Exercise Manual](https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-WHE-CPI-2017.10). WHO/WHE/CPI/2017.10. Geneva: WHO. * Pillar model and programme spine of the sites (vendored in the documentation repository, `tools/figures/vendor/nexus-model`): the source of every generated table on this page. --- # 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. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. 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