PEN-CAFoRR Communication and Dissemination Strategy

There are three key objectives of the communication of the PEN-CAFoRR:

  1. Create awareness of and advocate for the appropriate approach of forest restoration in Europe!
  2. Reach and attract collaborators in the forest restoration approach in Europe!
  3. Inform on the research breakthrough, new technologies and techniques, and definitions that may affect the European forest restoration efforts!

The communications objectives will be met by communicating through various channels and platforms and adapted to the different groups of researchers, stakeholders, and public.

For the dissemination of Action’s results and to encourage the involvement of the broader public, a wiki-style website dedicated to issues on climate adaptive forest restoration and reforestation will be created and maintained in English and in local languages. As other wiki-projects, the ForestRestorationWiki established during Action will strongly depend on voluntary work of individuals for updating and translation into local languages. The main proposer has the technical skills and is committed to maintain the ForestRestorationWiki once PEN-CAFoRR has satisfied its objectives, with support of his institution.

The first press release in English and in local languages of participating countries will be organized on the Kick-Off Meeting in all the participating countries. At the same time, a blog will be committed to PEN-CAFoRR Action, and profiles and/or announcements on a social (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), business (LinkedIn), and research (Research Gate) media will be launched. Every technical or scientific publication derived from this proposal will be followed by a press release in English and in local languages of participating countries. In addition, publishing popular press articles in local languages of participating countries will be coordinated.

Scientific results of PEN-CAFoRR Action will be disseminated through refereed scientific journals if publication does not impair Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The Action’s Management Committee will promote co-publications and publications under the open access policy as often as possible. The publication of Common joint review articles will help to disseminate results to a broader, less specialized public. Technical guidelines focusing on one or more technical aspects related to climate adaptive forest restoration and reforestation will be produced. At the end of the Action, under the lead of the Management Committee, it is foreseen to publish at least one scientific book that gives an overview of the most important results.

The network will organize Thematic Workshops to inform interested scientists and stakeholders (forest management enterprises, professional associations, landowner associations, NGOs, regulatory bodies, and policymakers), about the results of the Action and about new technologies/guidelines developed throughout the project. These workshops will provide hands-on practical training as well as theoretical information. As a part of these Thematic Workshops, excursions will be organized for the most relevant stakeholders to visit the sites where innovative and novel solutions are implemented.

Working Group meetings will be combined as much as possible with Management Committee meetings and will be organized in different geographic regions to allow participants from all regions to encounter the European technical know-how.

Training Schools will be organized to share knowledge among members from different regions and they will be open to interested public (fostering new members). Experts in the field will be invited as speakers to facilitate access to the latest developments. COST Inclusiveness Target Countries and Early Career Investigators will be prioritized to hold and attend Training Schools.

Short Term Scientific Missions will be offered to young scientists and scientists from developing regions. Short Term Scientific Missions will facilitate technology transfer within the Action and training in new techniques or shared use of critical equipment or field trials.

Helping PhD students and Early Career Investigators to attend international science and technology related conferences that are not specifically organized by COST Actions, to disseminate the results of this Action.

Knowledge and data resulting from the PEN-CAFoRR Action activities will be integrated and presented at International Conferences. This will promote European know-how and increase international collaboration.