Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ForestValue2 (ForestValue2 - Innovating forest-based bioeconomy)
Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31
Today, forests and other wooded land cover over 40% of the EU’s land area and are instrumental in a number of key policy areas. The forest-based sector represents one of the few major industries in Europe that can actually become truly sustainable. It is well established, the forest-based sector not only can help decarbonize the land sector, but can also displace high embedded energy materials such as steel and concrete.
ForestValue2 is a European network of public funding organisations aiming to support and increase coordination and alignment of national and regional funding programmes on research and innovation related to forest-based bioeconomy, in order to strengthen the European Research Area. At the same this is expected to promote increased innovation and competitiveness of the forest-based sector in Europe and support its transformation from a resource-intensive to a knowledge-intensive, productive, resource-efficient and resilient sector. As such, the proposed action will reflect and contribute to several related EU Policy Objectives such as: 1) the European Green Deal , 2) the 2020 forest objectives of the new European forest strategy providing a basis for forestry and the whole forest-based value chain to be competitive and viable contributors to the bio-based economy, 3) the EU Bioeconomy Strategy for 2030 objectives, 4) the European Industrial Strategy, 5) Circular economy action plan, 6) Clean energy strategy, 7) Land use and forestry regulation for 2021-2030, and 8) the commitments stated in the Land use and forestry regulation for 2021-2030 ((LULUCF).
ForestValue2 is a European network of public funding organisations aiming to support and increase coordination and alignment of national and regional funding programmes on research and innovation related to forest-based bioeconomy, in order to strengthen the European Research Area. At the same this is expected to promote increased innovation and competitiveness of the forest-based sector in Europe and support its transformation from a resource-intensive to a knowledge-intensive, productive, resource-efficient and resilient sector. As such, the proposed action will reflect and contribute to several related EU Policy Objectives such as: 1) the European Green Deal , 2) the 2020 forest objectives of the new European forest strategy providing a basis for forestry and the whole forest-based value chain to be competitive and viable contributors to the bio-based economy, 3) the EU Bioeconomy Strategy for 2030 objectives, 4) the European Industrial Strategy, 5) Circular economy action plan, 6) Clean energy strategy, 7) Land use and forestry regulation for 2021-2030, and 8) the commitments stated in the Land use and forestry regulation for 2021-2030 ((LULUCF).
The process of establishing research priorities for ForestValue2, which were identified as strategically important to the funding partners, involved a kick-off meeting in Brussels, where a broad list of priorities was initially generated. A survey with a scoring system was conducted to rank the priorities based on their importance, followed by a workshop that included input from experts in the field and covered various topics relevant to the project. This collaborative effort resulted in the development of a comprehensive call text that aligned with both the national and EU strategic priorities.
The ForestValue2 Joint Call was launched on 02 May 2023. A total of 25 proposals were submitted, after the formal and national eligibility checks, 21 proposals were deemed as eligible and they underwent a scientific evaluation by an independent international expert panel. Finally, in their meeting on 12 Dec 2023, the participating funding agencies decided on four proposals to be recommended for funding. The funded initiatives are expected to commence in the early summer of 2024 at latest.
The implementation of other joint activities deals with widening activities towards EU 13, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova, closely linked to other ForestValue2 tasks. The 1st Webinar, Breakfast Club, and Scientific Aperitif were organized with the occasion of the International Conference „Forest Science for people and societal challenges” – The 90th „Marin Drăcea” INCDS Anniversary (2- 6 Oct 2023, Bucharest, Romania) where a special session - Policy, science, and practice together in the field of forest on pan-European scale - was dedicated to ForestValue2 Project. The individual events brought together a large number of actors, in total close to 100 actors (in person and online) representing research and education, forest enterprises, forest owners, forest-based industry, civil society, and environmental non-governmental organizations.
The ForestValue2 Joint Call was launched on 02 May 2023. A total of 25 proposals were submitted, after the formal and national eligibility checks, 21 proposals were deemed as eligible and they underwent a scientific evaluation by an independent international expert panel. Finally, in their meeting on 12 Dec 2023, the participating funding agencies decided on four proposals to be recommended for funding. The funded initiatives are expected to commence in the early summer of 2024 at latest.
The implementation of other joint activities deals with widening activities towards EU 13, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova, closely linked to other ForestValue2 tasks. The 1st Webinar, Breakfast Club, and Scientific Aperitif were organized with the occasion of the International Conference „Forest Science for people and societal challenges” – The 90th „Marin Drăcea” INCDS Anniversary (2- 6 Oct 2023, Bucharest, Romania) where a special session - Policy, science, and practice together in the field of forest on pan-European scale - was dedicated to ForestValue2 Project. The individual events brought together a large number of actors, in total close to 100 actors (in person and online) representing research and education, forest enterprises, forest owners, forest-based industry, civil society, and environmental non-governmental organizations.
The ForestValue2 network and its activities have strongly supported the work of the Strategic Working Group on Forests and Forestry Research and Innovation of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR FOREST) in its preparatory work for a European R&I Partnership on Forests and Forestry under the Horizon Europe Programme. Especially when it comes to the active engagement of different actors, the ForestValue2 Joint Call is of added-value in the efforts towards the partnership.
In the long term, the results of research conducted within the jointly funded projects under the ForestValue2 Joint Call 2023 – supported by the extensive network of the European national funding bodies and other stakeholders - is expected i) improve the cohesion and coordination of the forest-relevant policies and ii) synergies between research & innovation and higher education policies and programmes. Furthermore, the value and synergy obtained from the ForestValue2 network activities as a whole are expected to be one of the driving forces towards a more open and inclusive research and innovation system, improving the coordination and efficiency of research commissioning in the forest management and F-BI research areas.
In the long term, the results of research conducted within the jointly funded projects under the ForestValue2 Joint Call 2023 – supported by the extensive network of the European national funding bodies and other stakeholders - is expected i) improve the cohesion and coordination of the forest-relevant policies and ii) synergies between research & innovation and higher education policies and programmes. Furthermore, the value and synergy obtained from the ForestValue2 network activities as a whole are expected to be one of the driving forces towards a more open and inclusive research and innovation system, improving the coordination and efficiency of research commissioning in the forest management and F-BI research areas.