9:15 a.m.
IUFRO Task Forces are established on a temporary basis to advance inter-disciplinary
cooperation in inter-divisional forest research fields. Their focus is on emerging key
issues that are of strong interests to policy makers and groups inside and outside the
forest sector, and contribute to international processes and activities.
During the IUFRO Board Meeting held in Salt Lake City in October 2014, a number of
Principles were agreed upon as a basis for the establishment of Task Forces during the
current IUFRO term. In the view of the IUFRO Management Committee, the number of Task
Forces to be convened during a given year may be up to ten, but in order to encourage
activities across the full spectrum of IUFRO's disciplinary expertise, shorter-term,
more tightly focused Task Forces are encouraged. This will enable IUFRO to establish new
Task Forces on a periodic basis throughout the 2015-2019 Term to take advantage of
emerging needs and opportunities.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Proposals for new Task Forces will be evaluated by the Management Committee based on the
following criteria:
• Contribution to implementation of the IUFRO Strategy 2015-2019;
• Potential to strengthen cross-Divisional interaction on specific topics of global
relevance related to one or more Emphasis Areas and/or Institutional Goals of the IUFRO
Strategy 2015-2019 (for details see
<http://www.iufro.org/discover/strategy/#c10578>
http://www.iufro.org/discover/strategy/#c10578);
• Engagement of two or more Divisions by specifically involving relevant Divisional
units (Research Groups and/or Working Parties) - proposal should be jointly developed with
the relevant IUFRO Divisions and their units, but may involve additional experts currently
outside of the IUFRO network and partner institutions, as required. Task Force activities
should not undercut current work within IUFRO Divisions, but rather complement and expand
their activities;
• Specific contribution of the proposed Task Force to addressing broader policy
processes or interdisciplinary science-policy initiatives; e.g., Future Earth (1) ,
Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), etc.;
• In case partner institutions are involved, brief justification for their
involvement;
• Clarity of timelines for proposed Task Force activities and their deliverables; while
Task Forces can be proposed for up to the full length of the current IUFRO term (until the
2019 World Congress in Brazil), it is highly recommended that proposed Task Forces
consider more focused activities to be undertaken over a much shorter time period (i.e.,
1-2 years);
• Selection of Task Force members in a way that they reflect required scientific
expertise, diversity, balance between North/South, natural and social sciences, and
gender;
• Clarity of operational aspects (roles and responsibilities of Task Force coordinator
and members, roles and responsibilities of partners involved, if any), budget for
activities and funding sources.
Proposals are now being accepted for new Task Forces that would begin their work in early
2015. Please refer to the format (outlined below) when preparing your proposals. The
deadline for submission of proposals is January 15th, 2015. All proposals will be reviewed
by the Vice-President for Task Forces in consultation with other members of the IUFRO
Management Committee and the Coordinators of IUFRO Divisions relevant to each proposal.
Decisions on the establishment of new Task Forces will be made and communicated to the
proposed Task Force coordinators by the end of February. The coordinators of new Task
Forces will be invited to participate in the upcoming IUFRO Board meeting to be held in
Vienna from April 15-17, 2015.
FORMAT FOR TASK FORCE PROPOSALS
Note: Proposals should include the following as concisely as possible, within 3-5 pages.
• Name of proposed Task Force
• Name of proposed Task Force coordinator, affiliation (including IUFRO position) and
contact information
• Names of proposed Task Force members, their affiliations (including IUFRO positions)
and contact information
Brief overview of the rationale, goals, and objectives of the proposed Task Force (1
paragraph)
• Description of specific proposed Task Force activities, deliverables and timelines.
This should include planned focused meetings with tangible outputs such as
'state-of-knowledge' reviews, journal papers, dedicated volumes, etc.
• Budget table listing major activities and funding sources, if known – indicate if
these funds are already secured.
• Narrative addressing the following:
- Contribution to implementation of the IUFRO 2015-2019 Strategy;
- How the proposed Task Force will strengthen cross-Divisional interaction on specified
topics related to IUFRO 2015-2019 Strategy's Emphasis Areas and/or Institutional Goals
, and how the Task Force will complement and/or expand activities of existing IUFRO
Divisional units;
- Specific contribution of the proposed Task Force to addressing broader policy
processes or interdisciplinary science-policy initiatives.
The deadline for submission of proposals is January 15th, 2015. Proposals should be sent
to John Parrotta ( <mailto:jparrotta@fs.fed.us> jparrotta(a)fs.fed.us) with a copy to
Renate Prüller ( <mailto:prueller@iufro.org> prueller(a)iufro.org).
(1) Future Earth is an ICSU interdisciplinary initiative to develop knowledge for
responding effectively to the risks and opportunities of global environmental change and
for supporting transformation towards global sustainability.