Forests· 2026Q1
From Strategic Alignment to Implementation Gaps: Forest Research and Innovation Agendas in Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe
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- 2026year
Short summary
Forestry research priorities in Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CEE/SEE) largely align with pan-European agendas, but a significant gap exists in the perceived capacity to implement these strategies, particularly for smaller businesses and private forest owners.
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Key points
- Forestry research priorities in CEE/SEE Europe show strong strategic alignment with broader European agendas.
- Key aligned areas include forest resilience, sustainable management, wood value chains, circular bioeconomy, and knowledge transfer.
- Interviews identified significant implementation capacity gaps, especially for smaller businesses and private forest owners.
- Barriers to implementation include administrative complexity, fragmented support, and weak innovation culture.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Forest-based innovation is increasingly important for Europe’s transition towards a sustainable and circular bioeconomy, yet the extent to which macro-regional research and innovation priorities in Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CEE/SEE) align with broader European agendas remains insufficiently understood. This study examines strategic alignment and perceived implementation capacity by comparing the forestry-related priorities of the BIOEAST Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) with the pan-European EUFORE SRIA and complementing this document analysis with semi-structured expert interviews conducted in Slovakia, Croatia and Czechia. Strategic priorities were compared using a structured qualitative alignment matrix, while interview data were analysed thematically to identify perceived innovation priorities, barriers, opportunities, and future needs. The comparison reveals substantial strategic alignment, particularly in forest resilience, sustainable forest management, wood value chains, circular bioeconomy and knowledge transfer. However, the interviews identify persistent constraints related to administrative complexity, fragmented support systems, weak innovation culture, technology and knowledge transfer, and the limited implementation capacity of some actor groups, particularly smaller businesses and private forest owners. The findings therefore suggest that the principal challenge is less a conflict between strategic priorities than a gap in perceived implementation capacity. Strengthening macro-regional coordination, innovation-support mechanisms, knowledge transfer, and actor-specific capacity may facilitate more effective participation of the three studied national contexts in European forest research and innovation.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Forests, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
General Agricultural and Biological SciencesAgricultural and Biological Sciences