Nexus Standards · Foundations and Governance · Foundations
Area · proposed
Explains the UNI (Unique Nexus Identifier, NS-1): the grammar NXS-SCOPE-CAT[-REGION]-SERIAL[@VERSION], allocation only through the catalogue command-line tool, never deleted or reused, embedded in the artifact itself and resolvable at /uni/<uni>; and how record UNIs (NS-3) and contextual UNIs (NS-9) extend it. A UNI identifies and resolves an artifact; it does not certify it or authorise its use. Each artifact of the area carries a UNI (Unique Nexus Identifier).
Nexus Standards (2026). The UNI and the artifact catalog: area brief, Foundations and Governance programme. Proposed. https://nexustandards.com/foundations/the-uni/. Last reviewed 17 October 2026.
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An area of the Foundations and Governance programme (foundations). The area profile sets out 5 matters in scope and 3 matters addressed by other areas.
In scope 5
Out of scope 3
Jurisdictions Application in each jurisdiction is a national decision, taken by the National Standards Council (NSC) with the competent national authorities.
The map is framed on the world. Shown at first: night-time lights, daily (VIIRS Black Marble, VNP46A2, NASA LAADS DAAC) and population density, 2020 (Gridded Population of the World v4.11, NASA SEDAC, CIESIN, Columbia University). The layer drawer adds true colour (VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance). NASA products are served through NASA GIBS under NASA's open data policy, with acknowledgement; population density is GPW v4.11 by CIESIN, Columbia University, under CC BY 4.0; coastlines, boundaries and place names come from NASA GIBS reference layers (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and Natural Earth (public domain). Each layer shows its own observation date; full credits are given under the map. Other sources of the profile, such as DataCite REST API (DOI metadata for crosswalk and harvest tests) and ROR data dump (organisation identifiers for publisher and creator fields), are listed for reference.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 2
Connected activity
Keyboard, with the map focused
Hold Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom
Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
Loading the latest NASA imagery.
Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.
Night-time lights and population density, the footprint of electrified, connected activity, framed on World.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place.
Layers and dates
A producer describes an artifact; its context codes are checked against the registries; the catalog mints the UNI (Unique Nexus Identifier) and keeps the record; the UNI is embedded in the artifact and resolves to its landing page; versions share the UNI, and a withdrawn or replaced artifact keeps its record. 8 operations in 6 phases, built from the area profile: the cards carry its own data sources, indicators, open standards, couplings and, where listed, hazards, and each operation names the Nexus rules it implements (10).
Describe artifact start · Description
The producer states what the artifact is, which scope publishes it, its category, and only the domain, sector, region and environment segments that are true of all of it.
Check codes gate · Codes
Scope, domain, sector and environment codes are three-letter registry codes; regions are ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 or UN M49. A missing code is proposed, never invented.
Mint the UNI step · Allocation
The catalog returns the next serial for the scope, category and context segments. The serial is never reused.
Catalog record record · Allocation
One record per UNI says what the artifact is, who made and publishes it, what rights apply and where it lives.
Embed the UNI step · Embedding
Source files carry a header line, documents front matter, datasets a sidecar or metadata key, figures a caption suffix, web pages a meta tag and APIs the X-Nexus-UNI header.
Resolve the UNI record · Resolution
The resolver path returns the record; the URN form urn:nexus:uni:<UNI> and the citation forms of NS-2 point to the same record.
New version step · Resolution
A revision keeps the identifier of the concept; citations of a state cite the version.
Withdraw or replace end · Retirement
A withdrawn artifact keeps its record and identifier; a replaced one points to its successor, and identifiers that use a retired code stay valid.
Fig.Phases read left to right; each card names the operation, its actor and the record it leaves, and each edge label names the hand-over. Play, step or scrub; the detail panel gives the full text of the selected operation. Sources: DataCite Metadata Schema 4.5 · RFC 8141 Uniform Resource Names (URNs) · NS-1: The UNI and the artifact catalog · NS-3: Risk record UNIs.
The standards architecture of this context, from the foundation standards to the open standards referenced (grouped by type of relation) and the services and data sources that build on them.
The interactive view requires JavaScript; the sections below present the same records.
4 couplings link this area to other areas and programmes, each with the mechanism of the link. Select a card on the diagram to trace a coupling.
Fig.The area at the left; coupled areas in the same programme, coupled areas in other programmes and the programmes reached to the right.
A system model of this area built from the registry: 5 systems, 4 sectors, 8 controls, 3 feeds, 2 indicators. Select the components to include, choose an initiating hazard and run the scenario. Stress propagates through the hazard relations of the Nexus Hazard Standard (NHS-1), the exposure of each system, the recorded couplings and the sectors that carry the loss; adopted standards dampen transmission and live data sources support detection. All parameters are stated assumptions that the reader can adjust; results are illustrative scenario outputs for exercises and training, not forecasts or risk assessments.
Systems and couplings
Controls
NS-1 The UNI and the artifact catalog (grammar v0.2: domain, sector, region and environment segments)NS-3 Risk record UNIs (grammar, legacy crosswalk, allocation authority)NS-7 Resolver landing pages, page meta tags, sitemapNS-9 Contextual UNIs (deployments, instances, programme instances)NRS-A5 Built-in licensing and rightsNRS-C4 Risk data model, identifiers and exchangeNRS-A3 Agent interface to the standardsNRS-U16 Universe platform profile: Institutional Funds NexusObservation
The area profile lists 4 Nexus Standards. Each is a proposed standard under development.
Status: proposed · 10 requirements stated. Read NS-1
Status: proposed · 0 requirements stated. Read NS-3
Status: in development · 0 requirements stated. Read NS-7
Status: proposed · 5 requirements stated. Read NS-9
A proposed charter for this area, open to institutions and experts.
Maintain NS-1, NS-3 and NS-9, the resolver behaviour (NS-7) and the crosswalks to other persistent identifier systems.
Institutions and experts are invited to charter this working group under NS-13 by filing a public change record. National Working Groups (NWGs) contribute national inputs and field exercises through their National Nexus Consortium (NNC).
6 open standards, each with its relation as recorded in the register under NS-14. Hover over or focus a relation for its definition.
profile2
RFC 8141 Uniform Resource Names (URNs)IETF (RFC Editor)proposed for the registerData Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT) Version 3W3Clisted in the register · w3c-dcat-3crosswalk3
DataCite Metadata Schema 4.5DataCitelisted in the register · datacite-metadata-schema-4-5SoftWare Hash IDentifier (SWHID) specificationSWHID working group (Software Heritage)listed in the register · swhid-iso-iec-18670DOI Handbook (the DOI system, standardised as ISO 26324, named only)DOI Foundationproposed for the registerSelect a sector, hazard family, capability and artifact type; the registry identifies the applicable standards and states the reasons.
Available · from the registryTest suites, conformance statements and attestations for each standard, as recorded in the registry.
PlannedReference deployments and a sandbox with worked examples.
Each console computes from the registry and states its reasoning; decisions remain with the competent bodies.
3 questions identified as priorities for the working group.
What each institution of the ecosystem draws from this area: GCRI Canada, as Secretariat, for evidence; The Global Risks Forum (GRF) for recognition; and The Global Risks Alliance (GRA) for capital.
GCRI Canada decides under its own rules which identified records it accepts as evidence; a resolvable UNI makes a record traceable but is not an acceptance.
The Global Risks Forum (GRF) may use UNIs to reference contributions in its own processes and decides recognition independently of whether a record carries one.
The Global Risks Alliance (GRA) decides capital readiness under its own criteria; UNIs only let its reviewers trace an evidence chain to source records.
Each institution determines under its own rules what it accepts as evidence; a pathway reading is neither an approval nor investment advice.
The area profile identifies 4 user communities.
Standards whose text is not openly available are named and linked only. Any compatibility profile is kept on protected pages until an arrangement with the issuing body is in place.
The working group may identify restricted standards relevant to this area; they are listed here by name and link.
3 data sources named in the area profile, each with provider, licence, update frequency and delivery path.
Data sources are listed for reference; live data is displayed once licence review is complete.
DataCite REST API (DOI metadata for crosswalk and harvest tests)for reference
DataCite · continuous
CC0 1.0 (metadata)
direct browser readproposed for the data register
ORCID public data filefor reference
ORCID · annual
CC0 1.0
build-time snapshotproposed for the data register
ROR data dump (organisation identifiers for publisher and creator fields)for reference
Research Organization Registry · monthly
CC0 1.0
build-time snapshotproposed for the data register
The area profile names 2 indicators, each with its framework and code.
Indicator names and codes are given as published by their stewards.
Hazards and threats 0
This area draws on the hazards of the areas it is coupled with.
Sectors 0
This area serves all sectors through the areas it is coupled with.
4 references from peer-reviewed and official publications cited in the area profile, linked at the publishers' own sites.
Recent peer-reviewed articles, preprints, datasets and reports on the subject of this area, retrieved at the time of reading from open scholarly metadata services (OpenAlex, Crossref, DataCite, Zenodo, arXiv, Europe PMC, OpenAIRE Graph) with search terms composed from the registry. Each work is listed with its authors, venue, year, type, open-access status and licence, and links to its DOI or landing page. Sources not yet enabled for live display on this site are listed for reference and are not queried.
Search termspersistent identifier; persistent identifiers; digital object identifier; PID infrastructure; DataCite Metadata Schema; RFC 8141 Uniform Resource NamesDerived from the title and scope of the area, the NHS-1 hazards it names and the open standards it lists.
No source is enabled for live display on this site yet: the sources are listed for reference and none is queried. Once the publisher of record enables a source after its terms are reviewed, recent works are listed here. Metadata and links only: title, authors, venue, year, type, open-access status and licence as each source records them; works are listed for orientation, not reviewed or endorsed.
1 course and 2 disciplines of Risk Academy (risksacademy.com) that teach the knowledge and methods of this area. Each course lists its level, stream and learning hours.
The correspondence between courses, disciplines and the Nexus Standards is maintained with Risk Academy and is subject to its academic review.
GCRI Canada, The Global Risks Forum (GRF), The Global Risks Alliance (GRA) and Risk Academy work on the subject of this area in distinct roles (research and evidence; governance, policy and convening; capital, finance and markets; education and training). Each entry states why it corresponds and the step it offers; each institution sets its own terms of participation.
Research and evidence
GCRI Canada
Research programmes that produce the observations, models and assessments these records describe.
Nexus RegistryMaintains record provenance, versioning and correction histories, the practice that a persistent identifier makes citable.Apply to this programme Data and ComputeEngineers public-interest data infrastructure and reproducible pipelines, on which resolvable identifiers depend.Apply to this programme therisk.globalAll programmes of GCRI CanadaGovernance, policy and convening
The Global Risks Forum (GRF)
Tracks that convene public authorities, researchers and institutions on the governance of shared risks.
Governance NexusCompares authority, oversight and anti-capture arrangements in institutions, the questions that the standards process answers for its own decisions.Join this track Research NexusConvenes research on research integrity and the science-policy interface, the basis of evidence over assertion.Join this track globalriskforum.comAll tracks of The Global Risks ForumCapital, finance and markets
The Global Risks Alliance (GRA)
Industry programmes in which financial institutions build a shared understanding of systemic risk.
Financial Regulation NexusCompares regulatory and supervisory frameworks, the context in which supervised institutions read voluntary standards.Join this programme globalriskalliance.comAll programmes of The Global Risks AllianceEducation and training
Risk Academy
Courses and disciplines that teach the knowledge and methods practitioners need to apply these standards.
Technology and DataRAT-204 · Intermediate · 19 learning hoursManaging risk data, AI, digital infrastructure and technology risk responsiblyTake this course All courses and disciplinesListed in the education and training section of this pagePeer-reviewed articles, preprints, reports and datasets on the subject of this area, retrieved at the time of reading from open scholarly metadata services (OpenAlex and Crossref) and listed with authors, venue, year, type and access status, with a link to each work. Curated references and related standards are listed first; recent works matched by subject follow and are listed for orientation.
Search terms, derived from the title and scope of the area: persistent identifier; persistent identifiers; digital object identifier; PID infrastructure. With JavaScript enabled, recent works matching these terms are listed from OpenAlex and Crossref.
Nexus Reports is the Consortium's quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.
Never send personal data, sensitive infrastructure detail or anything you have no right to share. A contribution is reviewed before use; sending it confers no authorship or editorial rights, and sponsorship never buys a finding.
Institutions and experts are invited to propose amendments, join the working group or propose data sources. National participation is organised through each country's National Nexus Consortium (NNC) and its National Working Groups (NWGs); competent national authorities are engaged through official channels.
Status and use. The Nexus Standards are proposed standards developed through an open process under NS-13 and published for voluntary use; they do not constitute certification, accreditation or regulatory approval, and adoption remains a decision of the Global Standards Council and, in each country, of its National Standards Council. A UNI (Unique Nexus Identifier) identifies an artifact; it does not certify it. Names of standards bodies and their standards belong to their stewards and are used only to identify the documents; no text of an external standard is reproduced here. Nexus Standards is not affiliated with, endorsed by or certified by any standards body named here.
Licences: CC BY 4.0 for standards text, registries, schemas and data; Apache-2.0 for reference code. External standards are cited by name, number and link under their own licences. Third-party data, libraries and fonts keep their own licences: see Third-party notices.