From strategy to action: EUFORE’s legacy gains momentum

Four years after EUFORE was launched with the ambition of strengthening research and innovation funding and governance for Europe’s forest-based sector, the project’s final EU-level stakeholder event brought its work full circle.

Held in Brussels on 29–30 September, Forest Momentum: From Strategy to Action connected EUFORE, MoniFun and the new FOREST Partnership. The two-day event explored how strategic priorities, research evidence, forest monitoring and long-term collaboration can support resilient, multifunctional forests and a sustainable forest-based sector. 

The second day focused on EUFORE’s contribution to this transition. Project coordinator Alex Giurca (EFI) reflected on the project’s journey in his opening address. When EUFORE started, its ambition was to improve how forest research and innovation are funded, coordinated and governed in Europe. Today, the project leaves behind a comprehensive Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), scientific insights from across its work packages, an engaged stakeholder community, and a clear contribution to the FOREST Partnership. 

SRIA – a shared strategic compass 

Mika Kallio from Finland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Tony Quinn from Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine explained how the FOREST Partnership will put the SRIA into use. 

They described the SRIA as a shared strategic compass: a starting framework that will guide coordinated decisions while continuing to evolve as new evidence, pressures and opportunities emerge. Seven co-funded calls are planned over the Partnership’s ten-year programme from 2026 to 2036. The first of these, FORESTPathways, already provides a practical outlet for priorities identified through EUFORE.  

The Partnership will also extend beyond calls for proposals. Planned activities include a European network of forest and forestry living labs, work to better align monitoring with policy priorities, improved access to shared research and technology infrastructures, thematic programming linking nationally funded projects, and support for emerging researchers through a PhD Forum and summer schools. Quinn also explained how open consultation and the EUFORE stakeholder network informed the scoping of the first call. Future priority-setting will combine near-term call scoping with horizon scanning, foresight, portfolio analysis and continued engagement. Over time, this evidence will support an updated edition of the SRIA, helping it remain a living strategic document rather than a snapshot of priorities at the end of EUFORE. 

The message of the day was clear: the SRIA developed through EUFORE is not an endpoint. It provides the strategic foundation from which the FOREST Partnership can align investment, research and innovation across Europe. 

A full report of the event, including presentations, is available on EUFORE website.