Deadline: 01-Sep-2024
The European Forest Institute (EFI) is seeking proposals for citizen and stakeholder engagement in climate-smart forestry (CSF) and forest restoration.
Objectives and Outcomes
- FORWARDS is a project funded by the European Union that will prototype the Forest-Ward Observatory, a pan-European monitoring and evaluation system that will help assess how European forests respond to the impacts of climate change. It will document current restoration activities concerning forests, biodiversity, carbon, and soils and explore various restoration options to guide decision-making processes towards climate-smart forest management.
- One of the aims of the FORWARDS project is to engage and empower citizens and stakeholders in the co-creation of solutions that will support the future of forests amidst climate change challenges. In the project, engagement and co-design will help in shaping a platform solution that is responsive to specific stakeholder interests and prioritizes user needs. This approach ensures that project results resonate effectively with diverse stakeholder groups, fostering greater uptake and implementation of project outcomes. For sustained impact, engagement activities on different administrative levels are important, including policy-related dialogues or consultations that span across sectors.
- To set up the Observatory and support the implementation and scaling up of CSF and restoration sites, this call seeks to promote greater engagement of citizens and stakeholders in advancing CSF and restoration efforts. It aims to (1) increase awareness of the need for CSF, (2) assess the potential social impacts of CSF, and (3) develop inclusive initiatives that empower local communities, organizations, and other stakeholders to actively co-create and contribute to CSF decision-making processes and the development of policy recommendations.
Funding Information
- Up to five grants will be awarded in this call, with each project receiving funding up to €17,500. These may build on previous activities and may be cofinanced with own or other sources, but double financing of the same activities is not allowed. Retroactive funding is also not allowed, meaning that a grant may not fund activities that have already been completed.
- Projects may start in December 2024 the earliest, with an implementation period of up to 18 months. The activities shall be completed at the latest by December 2026.
Supported Projects and Activities
- This call will support activities that employ various levels of engagement ranging from local community initiatives to larger regional or national programmes in Europe. Supported projects and activities will complement existing or implement new social engagement activities in the context of CSF and forest restoration.
- Novel engagement ideas are encouraged to ensure that supported activities remain dynamic and adaptable to changing needs and opportunities in forest management and climate resilience, as well as to foster a culture of creativity and experimentation among citizens and stakeholders.
- Stakeholders refer to all the actors who can influence, or who are impacted by forest management decisions. This includes individuals, groups, policymakers, businesses, or entities that can contribute to providing relevant inputs for FORWARDS as well as organizations that can make use of the project outputs. FORWARDS distinguishes citizens as a specific group of stakeholders which encompass local communities residing in or near forests who can indirectly affect how forests are managed yet do not hold decision-making authority in this domain. It should be noted that for this call, only groups or organizations with legal entities are eligible to apply.
- In view of the foregoing, this call invites projects and activities that directly address at least one of the following three objectives:
- Increase awareness and provide knowledge on the need for CSF: This objective seeks to educate citizens and stakeholders on the importance of CSF and restoration efforts in mitigating climate change impacts. Examples include:
- Developing educational campaigns and materials such as citizen science apps, board games, or online resources that highlight CSF-related topics.
- Initiating art contests or exhibits focused on CSF and the importance of forests in climate change mitigation.
- Organizing guided forest excursions or nature walks to promote dialogues and knowledge sharing on CSF-related topics.
- Assess the potential social impacts of CSF: This objective aims to understand how CSF and restoration efforts may affect citizens and stakeholders for mutual learning and developing adapted forest management approaches. Examples include:
- Conducting stakeholder surveys or feasibility studies to gather insights and perceptions of local communities on forests and forest management as a basis for developing integrated CSF approaches.
- Facilitating community mapping workshops and other participatory methods to document local knowledge and cultural values related to forests and forest management as relevant for CSF and forest restoration.
- Applying participatory video or storytelling techniques to capture CSF-related perspectives and stories of youth, women and other specific stakeholder groups.
- Develop structures and processes to include perspectives and aspirations of citizens and stakeholders in management strategies: This objective focuses on inclusivity and puts emphasis on empowering citizens and stakeholders to actively co-create and contribute to decision-making processes and policy development. Examples include:
- Organizing joint visioning development or multi-stakeholder dialogues on CSF practices.
- Establishing collaborative partnerships, community advisory committees or other institutionalised forms of citizen participation in forest management.
- Providing capacity building opportunities, volunteering activities, or traineeships to engage in CSF activities.
- Increase awareness and provide knowledge on the need for CSF: This objective seeks to educate citizens and stakeholders on the importance of CSF and restoration efforts in mitigating climate change impacts. Examples include:
Eligibility Criteria
- Grant applications can be submitted by one legal entity or a consortium of legal entities.
- Applicants must, by the deadline for submission of the Application, meet the following criteria to be eligible for the grant:
- Applicant is a legal entity (legal person):
- If the application is submitted by a consortium (grouping of legal persons represented by a coordinator), this criterion applies to all the participants.
- This call is not open for applications from natural persons
- Applicant eligible for funding under the European Union Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme:
- If the application is submitted by a consortium, this criterion applies to all the participants
- Applicant is a legal entity (legal person):
- Applications not fulfilling the above stated eligibility criteria will be rejected.
Ineligible
- Furthermore, the following legal entities (legal persons) will not be eligible for funding:
- Beneficiary or associated partner of the FORWARDS project under the Grant Agreement No. 101084481
- Entities subject European Union restrictive measures
- Israeli entities due to activities in the territories occupied by Israel (European Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05)
- Public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity maintained by such a public interest trust (Council Implementing Decision 2022/2506)
For more information, visit EFI.