1. Mika Kallio Project Coordinator, MMM (FI)
SCAR FOREST workshop on "International cooperation in research and innovation for the future European forest-based sector”
5 February 2019
Club of the University Foundation, Brussels (Belgium)
Situation and needs about international cooperation on Research and Innovation in the forest-based sector, from the point of view of ForestValue ERA-NET Cofund
This project has received funding from the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under
grant agreement No
Mika Kallio
Project Coordinator, MMM (FI)

2. ?
Growth path of
ForestValue – Innovating forest-based bioeconomy ( )
18 countries, 30 partners
National funding + EU top-up
WoodWisdom-Net+
( )
12 countries 20 partners National funding + EU top-up
FORESTERRA
( )
12 Mediterranean-area countries, 16 partners
SUMFOREST
( )
18 countries, 23 partners
+ 9 European observers
WoodWisdom-Net 2 ( )
12 countries 19 partners 5 joint call funding organisations 7 associate organisations Joining new forces in East and South
of Europe
WoodWisdom-Net ( )
First 5 countries 12 partners
growth to 8 countries 18 partners Joining forces in North & Central
of Europe
Networks joining forces
from outside Europe
ForestValue builds on the success of three forest-based ERA-Nets:
WoodWisdom-Net (since 2004 facilitating the European coordination of national research programmes in the area of wood material science and engineering in the forest-based value chains, the present phase running under the FP7 ERA-NET Plus Scheme ),
SUMFOREST (Tackling the challenges in sustainable and multifunctional forestry through enhanced research coordination for policy decisions, ; to reinforce scientific cooperation on European forests, and build new cooperation arrangements with EU-neighbouring regions, aiming at reduced fragmentation and maximised impact of research activities on sustainable forest management and multifunctional forestry), and
FORESTERRA (Enhancing forest research in the Mediterranean through improved coordination and integration, ; to reinforce scientific coordination and integration of Mediterranean forest research programmes as well as scientific cooperation among Mediterranean EU and non-EU member states and countries from other Mediterranean Climate Areas (MCA), including Australia, South Africa, Chile and California).
Wood Material Science and Engineering
(FI-SE )
Tekes, AKA, MMM, Vinnova, Formas Joining forces in Finland and Sweden
Woodwisdom (FI )
Tekes, AKA, MMM
Joining forces of Finnish funding
and research

3. ForestValue Programme Evolution and growth to 100 M€ and 96 projects-
Evolution and growth to 100 M€ and 96 projects
In total, the three ERA-NETs behind ForestValue (WoodWisdom-Net, SUMFOREST, FORESTERRA) had national investments totalling around EUR 67 million to a variety of transnational co-funded RDI projects (71 funded projects), the total volume of these projects being close to EUR 86 million.
After the joint effort under the ForestValue ERA-NET Cofund, the total volume of national investments is expected to grow with another EUR 18 million meaning:
Since the first ERA-NET related to forest-based sector in with EU co-funding totalling around 20 M€ (incl. 7.5 M€ for coordination activities) - the total investments into forest research through these networks of national funders will now be up to more than EUR 100 million.
Situation and needs about international cooperation on Research and Innovation in the forest-based sector

4. FORESTVALUE CONSORTIUM 30 partners from 18 countries
Partners represent national/regional funding agencies and belong to:
12 EU Member States (Finland, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom)
4 Associated Countries (Norway, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey)
2 Third Countries (Argentina, Egypt)
The partnership in the project is widely spread across EU geographic regions and even encompasses further global areas. This ensures coverage of a wide range of the “natural” ecosystems, forest systems and related industries necessary to address European forest-based sector challenges.
Situation and needs about international cooperation on Research and Innovation in the forest-based sector

5. There are also a number of other national benefits, such as:
Why ERA-NET (1/2)
For funders the participation in an ERA-NET allows the country/region to link its research programme to those of other Member States/countries and participate in joint activities, in particular the funding of transnational research projects. The implementation of transnational research programmes based on an international peer review evaluation process should contribute to increasing the quality of research, increasing the level of funding for challenges which no Member State can tackle alone and avoiding the duplication of research funding.
There are also a number of other national benefits, such as:
Real international collaboration with the best of Europe.
With a relatively low national investment one can have an access to a large international project portfolio.
The integration of funders creates a possibility for the development of larger (in terms of financing) projects.
The collaboration between funders paves the way to the integration of RDI along the innovation chain.
Facilitating the creation of sufficient critical mass for breakthroughs in innovation and research by interdisciplinary and multi-cultural teams.
Situation and needs about international cooperation on Research and Innovation in the forest-based sector

6. Why ERA-NET (2/2)
In March 2018 SCAR Forest released a report on impact assessment of past and existing ERA-NETs and COST Actions within and related to the European forest-based sector. In its conclusion the report makes it clear that
“specifically for the European forest-based sector, which is largely composed of SMEs, the ERA-NET scheme has been the essential backbone for research and development activities”, and
the ERA-NET scheme as such “has proven to be the perfect instrument for bottom-up, well-tailored research and innovation actions fostering considerable transfer and market impact”.
Situation and needs about international cooperation on Research and Innovation in the forest-based sector

7. Maintaining knowledge, collaboration and networks
Knowledge created from past actions and projects is often lost or not easily accessible once activities reach the end of their timelines. Usually, after some years, the websites are no longer available and deliverables, contacts, results and outcomes are hard to find. A stable network could overcome the problem of “knowledge drainage”.
There is a clear need to establish a means to create, maintain and expand or merge networks created within different instruments as well as between the instruments and funded and non-funded projects within related thematic areas.
Situation and needs about international cooperation on Research and Innovation in the forest-based sector

8. Statistics on 102 valid received pre-proposals
ForestValue Call 2017: Step 1 statistics - collaborations AR 4 AT BE 1 CL CZ DK EG EE 20 2 FI 3 8 17 FR 21 41 18 DE IE LV MK NL 12 15 13 25 NO 10 PL PT RU 16 5 SI 9 7 ES 28 36 43 SE CH TN TR GB
Statistics on 102 valid received pre-proposals
Most cooperations
43x DE & SE
41x DE & FI
36x FI & SE
28x SE & AT
25x SE & NO
25x DE & NO

9. ForestValue Call 2017: Step 1 statistics - collaborations

10. Collaboration Is Crucial To Success
Since the first ERA-NET related to forest-based sector in 2004 the results make it evident: collaboration is the key to successful teams and projects in today’s complex environment including technical, policy and identity problems.
ForestValue will continue networking different actors, and the coming ForestValue annual seminars are one chance for any stakeholder to get involved.
Save the Date: ForestValue Research Programme Kick-Off Seminar
23 – 24 May 2019, Helsinki
Situation and needs about international cooperation on Research and Innovation in the forest-based sector

11. Impact
Good to remember:
there are numerous long-term impacts from research which may take even up to 50 years to become visible depending on the area and type of research.
Situation and needs about international cooperation on Research and Innovation in the forest-based sector

12. Mika Kallio
Project Coordinator/ ForestValue ERA-NET Cofund
Postal address: PO Box 30, FI GOVERNMENT, Finland
Visiting address: Hallituskatu 5, Helsinki
Mobile: +358 (0)
Skype: mikamkallio
Website:
LinkedIn: