2nd Joint Call for Proposals - ERA-NET Cofund Forest Value - Innovating the forest-based bioeconomy - 2021

Following the Co-funded Call in 2017 (first call), the aim of this second call is to support scientifically excellent transnational research, development and innovation projects that contribute to the improvement in the forest-based sector.

This Joint Call is a self-sustained call i.e. the funding to the call will come from the participating funders only without a co-funding element from the European Commission.

Forests play a crucial role for several societal challenges. The ForestValue Joint Call 2021 aims to contribute to reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the objectives of the European Green Deal and the coming new EU Forest Strategy, as well as to promote the development of the biobased economy by encouraging and supporting the utilization of forests and forest resources in an integrated and holistic way.

The call encompasses three main areas:

1. Sustainable and multifunctional use and management of forests, to maximize their contribution to all SDGs, focusing on but not restricted to:
   • Sustainable wood production and mobilization,
   • Soil fertility, ecosystem functioning and biodiversity,
   • Biotic and abiotic threats.
2. Building with wood from various perspectives, focusing on but not restricted to:
   • Construction, safety, design and recycling,
   • Incentives, policy, market challenges, and consumer perceptions and values.
3. Analysis of benefits, synergies and trade-offs in the use of forest biomass, focusing on but not restricted to:
   • Benefits and drawbacks with different allocations and ways of using the available biomass for different purposes and in different sectors to contribute to climate targets as well as other needs of society, including issues of global availability, markets and  international policy. Please note that this topic does not encompass technical research or development on specific products, processes or materials, but rather holistic and integrated approaches that deal with entire sectors or industries.

Applicants are expected to use interdisciplinary research approaches and holistic perspectives encompassing all aspects of a subject.

Additional information:

A maximum of 500 keuros are dedicated to this call under the following thematic priorities:

1 - Sustainable and multifunctional use and management of forests, to maximize their contribution to all SDGs, focusing on but not restricted to:

• Sustainable wood production and mobilization,
• Soil fertility, ecosystem functioning and biodiversity,
• Biotic and abiotic threats.

3 - Analysis of benefits, synergies and trade-offs in the use of forest biomass, focusing on but not restricted to:

• Benefits and drawbacks with different allocations and ways of using the available biomass for different purposes and in different sectors to contribute to climate targets as well as other needs of society, including issues of global availability, markets and  international policy. Please note that this topic does not encompass technical research or development on specific products, processes or materials, but rather holistic and integrated approaches that deal with entire sectors or industries.

Proposals aiming at:

2 - Building with wood from various perspectives, focusing on but not restricted to:

• Construction, safety, design and recycling,
• Incentives, policy, market challenges, and consumer perceptions and values.

Are not eligible for ANR’s funding

ANR will fund project up to a TRL (Technology Readiness Level) of maximum 5. 

For more information on the eligible topics please check the call documents and the annexes for the French participants available here below

• Please carefully check the national/regional funding regulations (under Call Documents ) because some of the topics described and types of research may not be suitable/eligible for all funding organisations.

The indicative total available budget amounts to 11,51 M €.

The countries participating to this call are:

Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden and Turkey.