Dear Santiago and Amanda,

My name is Lyndall Bull and I am the Value Added Innovation Coordinator within the Forestry Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

I am leading the development of a new IUFRO Task Force proposal entitled “Scaling-Up Science-based Forest Sector Innovation”. IUFRO recognizes the importance of scaling up science to support innovation across and between disciplines – however, to date there is no innovation focused IUFRO research division. Therefore, the proposed Task Force will focus on facilitating the impact and effectiveness of all nine scientific divisions of IUFRO and seeks to complement, rather than duplicate, existing efforts.

We are currently working to ensure that Task Force membership reflects a broad spectrum of scientific expertise (including both natural and social sciences), as well as geographical (aiming for representation from all continents), cultural and gender diversity, and provide opportunities for early-career scientists.   

The draft core objectives of the proposed Innovation Task Force are:

1. Develop an integrated and shared understanding of innovation and its potential, across the thematic foci of IUFRO divisions;
2. Improve education and communication about the importance of science-based innovation in the forest sector;
3. Foster the development of global partnerships that provide opportunities to enhance the science/policy interface to facilitate research-based policy making in the forest sector; and
4. Encourage research and collaboration between multiple stakeholders across all domains of the innovation typology (technological, policy, institutional, social and financial) to provide science-based evidence that encourages diverse approaches to innovation in the forest sector.

I am writing to you today to seek your interest in Division 2 of IUFRO participating in the Taskforce. We would welcome your direct involvement and/or ask if it possible for you to either forward this email to potentially interested officeholders of your Division – or alternatively, let us know who should be contacted.

I should be able to share the draft proposal (due by September 1) with you and relevant Division 2 officeholders in the coming days.

Should you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

Kind regards

Lyndall.

Lyndall Bull

Value Added Innovation Coordinator

Forestry Division

Room D427

Phone : + 39 06 570 51354

E-mail: lyndall.bull@fao.org