Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the shared layer that keeps Sustainable Catalyst coherent and auditable: common entities, traceable sources, reproducible exports, and documentation standards that reduce drift over time.
Goal: if a claim is made, we should be able to show what it’s based on—quickly, clearly, and without hand-waving.
A visual framework for infrastructure, showing the shared layers that support traceability, reproducibility, and documentation across the platform.
What this is
This page describes the internal standards and building blocks that sit beneath the modules.
It is not a hosted-platform promise. It is a public description of how the work stays reviewable.
Shared layers
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1) Common Entities
A shared system of record for organizations, topics, geographies, instruments, periods, and claims—so modules reference the same things.
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2) Sources & Provenance
Every metric and narrative claim should point to sources. Where uncertainty exists, it is documented rather than buried.
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3) Measurements & Methods
Define how indicators are calculated, updated, and interpreted. Methods are versioned so changes can be audited later.
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4) Exports & Reproducibility
Outputs should be portable: clean exports, clear schemas, and workflows that can be rerun without tribal knowledge.
How modules connect
Most modules can stand alone, but they become significantly more useful when they reference shared entities and evidence. Infrastructure provides those common references.
Catalyst Data
The shared relational layer: entities, sources, indicators, and measurements.
Analytics R
Reproducible analysis and scenario workflows that reference the same system of record.
Standards
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Evidence discipline
Claims should be explicit. Sources should be linkable. Uncertainty should be stated. Confidence should be earned.
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Versioned methods
Indicator definitions, transformations, and assumptions should be versioned so changes do not silently rewrite history.
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Portable outputs
Prefer exports and documentation that can travel across teams, tools, and reviewers without losing context.
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Human-readable documentation
Documentation is written for real readers. If it cannot be explained clearly, it is not finished.
Notes
Infrastructure is evolving. Some elements exist today as documentation and patterns, while others exist as working code and schemas.
The guiding rule is consistency: shared references, traceable work, and reproducible outputs.