The SUMFOREST ERA-Net project aimed to enhance co-operation and coordination of forest research activities carried out at regional and national levels, and to build new cooperation arrangements with EU neighbourhood regions, in order to reduce fragmentation and maximise the impact of research activities on sustainable forest management and multifunctional forestry.
More specifically, SUMFOREST was instrumental in creating a European forest research area in forest research that comprises:
- well-coordinated European, national and regional research programmes and priorities that are needed to ensure the coherence of European, national and regional research programmes and priorities on issues of a generic nature, and of European interest based on shared foresight exercises.
- effectively coordinated research institutions and centres of excellence that are crucial to address the complex interdisciplinary and cross-sectorial nature of emerging forestry challenges.
- joint research facilities and Pan-European networks of large-scale research infrastructures with long-term funding.
- strengthened science-policy-practice interaction thati s crucial for sound policy-making and for fostering innovation within the forest-based sector.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management of Austria coordinated the project. EFI was the vice-coordinator, and led the Work Package on foresight on policy needs, as well as the task of developing a comprehensive method for mapping forest research initiatives and transnational cooperation, and the task of establishing cooperation with Russia and Eastern partnership countries.
More information about the project on the CORDIS website. (last visited 13.1.2022)