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.