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The UK National Support Group has been established to strengthen Britain’s interactions with the European Forest Technology Platform

  • The European forest-based Technology Platform (FTP) is an industry-driven initiative of the European forestry, woodworking, paper, pulp and processing industries, whose role is to drive innovation and competitiveness by encouraging industry participation in research. Established in 2005, it is one of Europe’s most successful Technology Platforms.
  • The role of the UK National Support Group (NSG) is to encourage the participation of UK forest sector stakeholders in research activities; and to foster collaboration between UK and European businesses and researchers.
  • The UK NSG is part of a European network of NSGs that link the FTP with national research and innovation activities.

What the UK NSG network provides

  • It encourages UK organisations to undertake collaborative research and innovation projects and partnerships, by sharing information about new initiatives, technologies and funding.
  • It facilitates UK input into research prioritisation activities carried out by the FTP, helping to ensure that the European Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for the forest-based sector fully reflects the sector’s research needs and creates opportunities for the sector in research programmes such as ‘Horizon 2020’.
  • It may arrange meetings with NSGs from countries with similar issues.

Forest Research’s role

  • Forest Research originally led the development of the UK NSG, culminating in its formal establishment in July 2016.
  • Mike Render now leads its co-ordination, with assistance from a wide range of organisations from the UK forest-based sector.
  • We attend FTP Advisory Committee meetings, to ensure good links between the FTP Secretariat, other NSGs and their networks.

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