Impact Trust • Working glossary

Cascading impacts / orders of impact

The chain of effects that ripple outward from an initial change – first-order (direct), second-order (indirect consequences), third-order (systemic shifts) – often across different domains.

Details

Context introduced
Closely related to ‘cascading risk’ but broader – includes positive cascades and deliberate intervention design. Horizon 2045’s framework for connecting signals to scenarios runs through this logic.
Source
Horizon 2045, systems analysis
Source / First Appears In
Horizon 2045 TDT session
Authors
Impact Trust team