Partners

FOREST4EU is a Horizon Europe project with title “European innovation partnership network promoting operational group dedicated to forestry and agroforestry “. The project consortium has put together 16 partners from 9 countries with long-term expertise in forestry and agroforestry sectors. FOREST4EU project is coordinated by Università degli Studi di Firenze, UNIFI (Italy).

PROJECT COORDINATOR

UNIFI

The University of Florence (UNIFI) is a public institution which is one of the largest organisations for research and higher education in Italy. UNIFI will coordinate FOREST4EU by means of the Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry. DAGRI has a long research history , that started more then 100 years ago, in the main traditional fields of forestry research such as genetic, forest ecology, silviculture, forest management, forest operations, forest inventory and biometrics, remote sensing and GIS, forest fires prevention, forest fire recovery, and wood technology. DAGRI has expertise in the field of introduction and cultivation of exotic forest species, forest plantation, silviculture and management, forest operations, forest inventory, theoretical foundations and evolution of forest management. Its main interests and recent experience include forest management in nature conservation areas, silviculture, sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation, systemic approach in forest management and planning, forest naturalization, forest geomatics. At national level DAGRI is involved in many OGs that promote innovation in forestry sectors.

PARTNERS

CESEFOR is a private non-profit Foundation founded in Castile and León (Spain) in January 2003. It’s a services provider for the promotion of forestry and forest-based industries with a national and international remit. The Foundation contributes to the regional development, competitiveness and sustainability of the forestry industries that use regional forest resources. In order to do this, Cesefor brings together a range of services: capacity building, consultancy and training. Cesefor employs more than 70 people (45% women and 55% men). The average age is 40. It is a multidisciplinary team, 90% of whose staff is highly qualified. In the FOREST4EU project, Cesefor will be the leader of the “Non wood Forest products ITHub” and will be national contact point or member of the other 4 IT Hubs.
The European Forest Institute is an international organisation, established by European States. 30 European states have ratified the Convention on EFI, with around 130 Associate and Affiliate Member organisations in 41 countries. EFI conducts research and provide policy support on issues related to forests, by facilitating and stimulating forest-related networking and promoting the dissemination of unbiased and policy-relevant information on forests and forestry. The company also advocates for forest research and for the use of scientifically sound information as a basis for forest policies. The work in the field of policy support includes enhanced support for decision takers and policy makers. EFI is also the host of the International Partnerships Facility, which is a global centre of knowledge and expertise that supports policy and governance reforms to safeguard the world’s forests.
Steinbeis 2i GmbH (S2i) was founded in 2016 as a subsidiary of Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum (SEZ), which is part of Steinbeis Innovation gGmbH and has offices in Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. S2i concentrates on the topics of innovation and internationalization, and it is supported by the more than 25 years of experience offered by SEZ. SEZ is a partner in the Enterprise Europe Network of the European Commission, which includes more than 600 partners in more than 50 countries. In the FOREST4EU project, S2i will be the leader of WP1 – Collection, preparation, and translation of practical knowledge from forest and agroforestry EIP-AGRI Operational Groups.
Gozdarski inštitut Slovenije (GIS) is a public research institute in Slovenia that specializes in forest research, forest landscape, forest ecosystems, forestry, wildlife and hunting, with a focus on biodiversity and forest management under changing climate conditions. GIS is funded by the Slovenian government and employs 105 permanent staff who conduct research through national and international projects and public forestry and environmental services. GIS is connected to various target groups and end-users of research results, including forest owners, research communities, forestry and wood processing industries, and NGOs. It has developed several digital services for forest owners, including a System for Quality Assessment of Forestry Contractors, WoodChainManager, and e-learning material for quality classification of round-wood. The department currently has 12 researchers.
The National Centre for Private Forest Owners (CNPF) is a French public institution that contributes to the development of sustainable management of French private forests through activities of i) validation of sustainable forest management documents, ii) advisory and training roles, iii) the grouping of private forests, iv) applied research and v) knowledge dissemination. As a national public body with 10 regional delegations and 1 research and development institute, the CNPF is called upon by ministries at national level in the framework of various official mechanisms (e.g. national forestry plan) to provide expertise on policies relating to private forests, and to contribute to their elaboration and implementation. The CNPF is closely associated with all forest stakeholders (research and higher education, development, forest managers, owners and representatives, local authorities) at all levels (regional, national, European). In the framework of the FOREST4EU project, the CNPF will be part of the 5 IT Hubs and will be the leader of the IT Hub 2 “Adaptation to climate change”.
ANSUB is one of the largest and oldest associations of landowners in Portugal. It was created in 1994 by a group of landowners who organized themselves with the aim of defending and promoting the sustainable development of the forest in the Alentejo region. ANSUB is the managing entity of the Forestry Management Certification Group – Certisado, with a forest area of ​​more than 21,000 ha certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and is a partner and consultant in several research and dissemination projects, led by the main Institutes of National Research. In the FOREST4EU project, ANSUB will lead the itHUB5 Agroforestry.
BOSCAT was founded in 2011 and is the Catalan Federation of Associations of Forest Owners dedicated to promoting sustainable and joint forest management to adapt Mediterranean forests to climate change and prevent forest fires. It involves the management from ca. 2000 forest owners from 25 associations. Also works to create social and environmental impact through the professional training of young people at risk of social and labor exclusion, the promotion of the bioeconomy, the circular economy and the activation of forests and their ecosystem benefits. In the FOREST4EU project, Boscat is a member of the ITHubs1 Wood Mobilisation, the ITHub2 Adaptation of Climate Change and the National Contact Point for the ITHub 3,4 and 5.
Latvian Logistics Association is a voluntary association of legal entities and private individuals in Latvia. Organizations and specialists in the fields of logistics and customs have joined in LLA with the main goal to promote international trade, ensure safe and reliable cargo flow through Latvia and develop logistics and customs brokers’ activities in Latvia. Current focus is cross-sectoral cooperation. Latvian Logistics Asociation has successfully realized several EU Interreg, Baltic Sea Region, COSME and local projects. In FOREST4EU, Latvian Logistics Association is involved in all activities, but mainly its Organization Groups are related to activities of HUB1 and HUB2: Wood Mobilisation and Forest Adaptation to Climate Change.
The Bavarian State Institute of Forestry (LWF) is a research organization of the Bavarian State Forest Administration dedicated to the sustainable management of forests, especially focusing on the challenges of climate change, the protection and improvement of forest functions, the competitiveness of the forestry sector, and the dialogue about forests with society. LWF develops climate risk concepts for tomorrow’s forest, including for alternative tree species, thus creating an important basis for forward-looking forest advisory services. It compiles knowledge about forests and forestry and generates approaches and solutions of direct practical relevance for forest services, forest owners, other actors in the forest-wood value chain as well as for other research organizations. In FOREST4EU, LWF is responsible for the Work Package “Policy learning from innovation practice in EIP-Agri OGs”.
SOLUTOPUS- Recursos e Desenvolvimento, Lda” is a Portuguese SME committed to rural development and to the agriculture sector. Is active in forest management, on one side, and on the other works in research, at national and international levels. At the moment, is a partner in some Horizon Europe Projects, and is collaborating on other proposals. SOLUTOPUS expertise is in the social and economic fields, connected to rural policies, planning and governance. In FOREST4EU the main tasks are related to collecting and treatment of relevant information, understanding current trends in networking and dissemination of technical advisement and working as a national contact point in two ITHubs.
Tuscany is a region located in the centre of Italy with a population of over 3.7 million inhabitants. As foreseen by the Italian Constitution, the regional government has direct legislative competences, especially in the management of forests, with an area of about 1,200,000 hectares, which represents about 51% of its territory. The Tuscany Region is committed to the promotion of sustainable forest management, to the wood supply chains and the enhancement of ecosystem services provided by forests.
ETA is a consultancy company and engineering firm based in Florence (Italy), active in the field of renewable energy, with a multi-disciplinary and international team. The company believes in fostering and supporting knowledge around the scientific, commercial and social exploitation of Renewable Energies. In FOREST4EU, ETA will be responsible of the Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation activities of the project.

FCiências.ID – Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências, is a Non-Profit Private Association, endowed with legal personality. It was created in 2017 as an common initiative of Sciences Faculty of Universidade de Lisboa – a Higher Education institution – and 6 private companies, in order to support, potentiate and develop Research and Development and Innovation (R&D) activities of its seven associates, while, simultaneously enhancing Sciences Faculty strategic partnerships with market and services companies, therefore creating a more challenging environment for research and innovation. The research is organized into research units, with different designations: centers, laboratories and institutes. These units associate researchers from different departments of the Faculty and also include many researchers (around 30%) from other Portuguese or foreign Universities. The center in charge for FOREST4EU is Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c). It takes part in several national and international research projects, where the soil and ecology are the focus, adding training and literacy for students and for the public in general.

The Sciences Faculty of Universidade de Lisboa is composed of ten departments. The research is organized into research units, with different designations: centers, laboratories and institutes. These units associate researchers from different departments of the Faculty and also include many researchers (around 30%) from other Portuguese or foreign Universities. The Center in charge for FOREST4EU is cE3c. It takes part in several national and international research projects, where the soil and ecology are the focus, adding training and literacy for students and for the public in general.
Centar kompetencija d.o.o. is non-profit business support organisation (BSO) for strengthening innovation potential of Vukovar-Srijem County (Croatia). We promote and support bioeconomy, smart and sustainable use of natural resources, research, development and innovation (RDI) for advanced, competitive and climate-neutral economy. After succesfull implementation of HORIZON2020 projects ROSEWOOD and ROSEWOOD4.0, Centar kompetencija is coordinating ROSEWOOD4.0 European Network of Regions On Sustainable Wood Mobilisation ready for Digitalisation. In FOREST4EU project, Centar kompetencija is responsible for Knowledge transfer on OGs as innovation measures to Member States with limited/no experience in the framework of Policy learning from innovation practice in EIP-Agri OGs.
The University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) is a 500 years-old University with over 2000 Professors. The Department of Crop Production and Engineering Projects at the USC has 20 staff, and the Agroforestry Research Group is one of its ten research groups. The Agroforestry Research Group boosts rural development through agriculture, forestry and integrated systems with a better management and knowledge transfer towards the farms and multi-scales administration to improve rural competitiveness and the provision and quality of products and services under sustainable, productive, environment and social conditions. The Agroforestry Research Group is an international reference group in the agroecology field by conducting research and development projects in competitive calls at the European, national and regional levels, and also through contracts with companies and administrations. In the FOREST4EU project, USC will be a member of the Agroforestry itHUB.