These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of the CERES platform at ceres.northflow.no, the CERES API, and any associated services (collectively, the “Service”) operated by Northflow Technologies AS (“Northflow”, “we”, “us”). By accessing or using the Service you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
CERES is a research and early warning tool. It is not an operational replacement for IPC field assessments, famine declarations, or humanitarian programme decisions. CERES predictions must not be used as the sole basis for life-affecting operational decisions. See Section 7 for full disclaimer.
CERES provides calibrated probabilistic forecasts of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+) at Admin1 level across high-risk countries, updated weekly. The Service includes the public dashboard, the REST API, email alerts, intelligence reports, and supporting documentation.
The Service is provided by Northflow Technologies AS, a Norwegian technology company. Norwegian law applies to these Terms.
The Service is available to individuals, organisations, researchers, and humanitarian entities worldwide. To access paid API tiers, you must create an account and provide accurate registration information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your API key and account credentials.
You must be at least 18 years of age or the legal age of majority in your jurisdiction to subscribe to paid tiers.
The CERES public dashboard, free newsletter, and Tier A API access (500 requests/month) are available without charge. Open data published under CC BY 4.0 may be freely downloaded, used, and redistributed with attribution.
We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue free tier access at any time with reasonable notice.
Paid subscriptions (Tier B — Professional, Tier C — Institutional) are billed monthly via Stripe. By subscribing you authorise Northflow to charge your payment method on a recurring monthly basis until you cancel.
The CERES platform, codebase, and methodology documentation are the intellectual property of Northflow Technologies AS. The underlying open-source components retain their respective licences.
Open data: Prediction outputs published by CERES are licensed under CC BY 4.0. You may use, share, and adapt them freely provided you give attribution: “CERES / Northflow Technologies AS — ceres.northflow.no”.
API outputs: Data retrieved via the authenticated API (including confidence intervals, driver hypotheses, and Admin1 signals) may be used in research, reporting, and operational planning. Commercial redistribution of raw API outputs requires a Tier C licence agreement.
You agree not to:
CERES is a research and early warning tool. It is not an operational humanitarian authority.
Only the IPC Global Platform, through its established field-based Cadre Harmonisé or IPC Acute Food Insecurity process, has the mandate to classify and declare famine (IPC Phase 5). A CERES Tier I prediction indicates a high statistical probability of reaching IPC Phase 3 or above within 90 days — it is a signal for preparedness and monitoring, not a famine declaration.
CERES predictions are probabilistic estimates based on satellite, conflict, and market data. They carry uncertainty. They may be wrong. They should always be interpreted alongside field intelligence, FEWS NET situation reports, WFP VAM assessments, and direct humanitarian expertise.
Northflow Technologies AS accepts no liability for operational decisions made on the basis of CERES outputs, including but not limited to pre-positioning, funding allocation, evacuation, or programme design decisions.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Northflow Technologies AS and its officers, employees, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Our total liability to you for any claim arising from these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months prior to the claim, or NOK 1,000, whichever is greater.
We aim to maintain high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. The weekly pipeline runs on a best-effort basis. Scheduled maintenance, infrastructure incidents, or upstream data source outages may cause delays or gaps in predictions. We will communicate significant outages via the changelog and, where relevant, by email to active subscribers.
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate access to the Service, with or without notice, if you violate these Terms or engage in conduct that is harmful to the platform, other users, or third parties. Paid subscribers will receive a pro-rata refund for any remaining prepaid period.
These Terms are governed by Norwegian law. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Norwegian courts, with Oslo District Court as the agreed venue of first instance.
If you are a consumer in the EU/EEA, you retain the right to bring claims before the courts of your country of residence and to use the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform at ec.europa.eu/odr.
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email to active subscribers at least 14 days before taking effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
For questions about these Terms:
Northflow Technologies AS
ceres@northflow.no