A08 · EVIDENCE · methodsGRA dossier · service level R0
GRAInstitutional Funds NexusEstablished
Methods and uncertainty

Analysis and uncertainty

The methods Institutional Funds Nexus relies on, the assumptions they carry and the limits of what they can show.

Publisher
The Global Risks Alliance
Field
Capital markets and investment, Society and human development
Status
Established
Service level
R0: information and enquiries

Evidence register

Institutional funds · Analysis and uncertainty

Register currentGRA · Institutional Funds Nexus

Indicators

unit · cadence · label

Funding ratio of liabilitiesquarterlyMODELLEDSP-8988
Surplus at risk, 1-in-20 of liabilitiesquarterlyMODELLEDSP-1434
Hedge ratio, interest rate of liabilitiesmonthlyOBSERVEDSP-0452
Liquidity coverage of collateral calls×weeklyMODELLEDSP-6149
Climate scenario funding impactpct pointsannualMODELLEDSP-7774

Source passport

Source
Liability cash flows
Licence
open · attribution
Steward
Investment consultant
Coverage
64 pct of places
Known limits
sparse in uplands

Coverage by place

Institutional Funds Nexus · Evidence registerEvidence register, in outline: domain structure with placeholder names and illustrative values, not a record.

01In brief

The short answer.

The Institutional Funds Nexus methods page sets out the methods the platform relies on, among them actuarial mathematics, financial economics and macro-finance, and scenario design and stress testing, with their assumptions, validation and limits. Each analysis lists its assumptions and data, reports ranges and confidence beside central estimates, is checked against observations or other models, and states what it cannot show.

02Canvas

Draft to published version.

Canvas · draft to published versionDesign, not a record
Analysis and uncertainty: systematic evidence synthesisA question is framed with its owner and a protocol registered; records are searched, screened and checked for eligibility by two reviewers; data are extracted, synthesised and graded for certainty before a brief is written. Design of the process, not a record of a run.

Fig.How a finding is reviewed before it is published. Design, not a record.

03Geography

Activity and exposure in Oceania and the Pacific.

For analysis and uncertainty, in GRA's spatial-finance reading, the map opens on night lights and population density with built-up and settlement extent from NASA GIBS, framed on Oceania and the Pacific; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 2

Activity and exposure, for this page

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.

For analysis and uncertainty, in GRA's spatial-finance reading, the map opens on night lights and population density with built-up and settlement extent from NASA GIBS, framed on Oceania and the Pacific; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · GDACS · CIESIN/Columbia, NASA SEDAC HBASESources 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 H3 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • 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 H3 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). CC BY 4.0
  • 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 H3 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 H3 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 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.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Live: GDACS (EC JRC / UN OCHA) Events are indicative, not official warnings.
  • Context: CIESIN/Columbia, NASA SEDAC HBASE. Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University, and NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC): Global Human Built-up And Settlement Extent (HBASE) 2010; Seto, Guneralp and Hutyra 2012, Global Grid of Probabilities of Urban Expansion to 2030; Global Urban Heat Island (UHI) Data Set, 2013.
  • Optional layers (35 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

  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
  • Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026

05Methods

Methods for long-horizon fund risk.

MethodUseLimit
Stochastic asset-liability modellingDistribution of funding outcomesAssumes stable return relationships
Climate scenario overlaysShift returns by sector and region under pathwaysRepricing timing is assumed
Mortality projection with temperature effectsLiability sensitivity to heat and health changeEvidence is regional and evolving
Look-through exposure analysisPhysical exposure of underlying assetsCoverage of private assets is partial
06Actuarial link

Methods shared with insurers.

Longevity and liability methods are shared with insurance and are described at mortality and longevity.

07Uncertainty

How uncertainty is reported.

  1. 01

    State assumptions

    Each analysis lists its assumptions and the data it depends on.

  2. 02

    Quantify where possible

    Ranges and confidence are reported alongside central estimates.

  3. 03

    Validate and compare

    Models are checked against observations and, where possible, against other models.

  4. 04

    Publish limits

    What an analysis cannot show is stated beside what it can.

08Key terms

Terms used on this page.

Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.

TermDefinition
Uncertainty quantificationCharacterising and propagating the uncertainties in a model to state confidence in its outputs.
Sensitivity analysisRepeating an analysis under different assumptions to show how much the result depends on them.
Model validationIndependent testing that a model performs as intended and is fit for a stated use.
Actuarial mathematicsActuarial mathematics applies probability, statistics and financial theory to measure and price contingent risks, particularly in insurance and pensions.
09Sources

Where this page's references lead.

The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.

10Questions

Questions and answers.

Are the methods open?
Method descriptions are public on the STEM Commons. Code and data follow their own licences and access terms, listed in the source register.
Institutional Funds Nexus

Bring your expertise to this field.

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