European Partnership for FOrests, forestry, and the forest-based sector: REsearch and innovation for a Sustainable Transition (FOREST)
The proposed European partnership “FOrests, forestry, and the forest-based sector: REsearch and innovation for a Sustainable Transition (FOREST)” aims to mobilise research and innovation to accelerate the transition to a sustainable forest circular-bioeconomy. This partnership seeks to enhance resilience of the ecosystems including the promotion of biodiversity, soil fertility and strengthen the adaptation to climate change impacts. The planned Partnership on Forests and Forestry for a Sustainable Future will be a co-funded European partnership involving EU Member States and Associated Countries, with research funders and other public authorities at the core of the consortium.
Current activities
A series of pre-meetings from the beginning of the year 2025 set the stage for collaboration, with experts and stakeholders coming together to discuss priorities, strategies, and the anticipated impact of this initiative.
. September 1st 2025: 10th Consortium Development Meeting took place. See presentation here. Also, Part B was introduced. Part B is the core narrative of proposal and it is structured around three mandatory sections, which also correspond to the evaluation criteria: Excellence, Impact and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation.
. September 16th 2025: The final version of proposal for call HORIZON- CL6-2025-01 submitted in the EU F&T Portal.
. October 15th 2025: The partnership was officially presented in Brussels during the SRIA launch. Read more about it here.
. December 10th 2025: Invitation to participate in survey for preparation of first joint call on forest-related research and innovation
. mid-December 2025: successful applicants will be notified from EC >> NEW INFORMATION – Delayed: notification expected around mid-January 2026
Useful links
. EUFORE EUFORE – EUFORE project
. SRIA Strategic R&I agenda (SRIA) – EUFORE
. Frequently asked questions on the SRIA and on the Partnership Frequently Asked Questions – EUFORE
Co-creation of the first call
We are pleased to invite you to take part in the FOREST Partnership – Funders’ Strategic Survey: Input on the First Joint Call.
The purpose of this survey is to help identify which areas of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for the European forest-based sector should be prioritised in the first European Forest Partnership RDI Joint Call. It builds on the earlier EUFORE (https://eufore.eu/) prioritisation exercise while broadening the consultation to a wider range of stakeholders across Europe.
- Who should respond?
Research funders, policy and public administration bodies, research-performing organisations, forest owners and managers, industry and civil society/NGO stakeholders engaged with forest-related R&I. - Survey link – open until January 16, 2026:
You can access the survey here: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/b2df75ad-7081-e044-f858-ee77483e618c
Your input will play an important role in shaping the focus of the first FOREST Partnership call and in ensuring it reflects the needs and perspectives of the wider forest community across Europe.
The first European FOREST Partnership joint call is expected to launch in late Q4/2026.
