Odyssean Institute

The Odyssean Institute is a UK-registered charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) founded in 2022 by Giuseppe Dal Pra, a graduate of Balliol College, University of Oxford, in History and Politics, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. The institute was developed from two treatises authored by Dal Pra in 2017 and 2019 on how best to address complex risks to civilisation through democratic means, and was formally registered as a charity in September 2023. The institute's core contribution is the Odyssean Process, outlined in a white paper published on the EA Forum in November 2023. This methodology integrates three components into a unified policy development framework: systematic expert elicitation through horizon scanning, robust computational foresight using Decision Making Under Deep Uncertainty (DMDU) to explore multiple possible futures rather than producing single consolidated forecasts, and democratic deliberation through citizen assemblies and the IDEA Protocol. The process targets complex wicked problems, particularly existential and global catastrophic risks, and typically unfolds over several months with parallel phases. The institute runs several key projects. The GRAIN Initiative (Global Resilient Anticipatory Infrastructure Network) is a proposed diplomatic and trade network aimed at building capacity between nodes of persisting complexity, meaning states that could act as civilisational shelters for recovery after a collapse. The initiative identifies critical chokepoints where strategic interventions could strengthen systemic robustness across global supply chains. The AI Foresight Assembly project applies the institute's methodology specifically to AI governance and emerging technology policy, combining cutting-edge foresight with public deliberation to generate adaptive pathways that keep pace with emerging trends. The team is a multidisciplinary group based globally, with 5 trustees including Dal Pra as President, Dr Jan Kwakkel, Paul Ingram, Dr Daniel Hoyer, and Dr Catherine Anne Rhodes, along with approximately 6 volunteers and researchers. Team members bring expertise spanning AI safety, complexity economics, machine learning, metascience, expert elicitation methods, and public deliberation. The institute also maintains an academic advisory board composed of leading practitioners and researchers. The Odyssean Institute operates across 7 countries including the United Kingdom, United States, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil, and Taiwan. It has received funding from the Survival and Flourishing Fund, the Dag Strand Nielsen and Family Foundation, and has raised funds through Manifund. The institute published a GRAIN Overview Report on the EA Forum in July 2025.