The Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has established a $100 million Australia-wide national institute, known as Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI), in partnership with the University of Tasmania (UTAS).
A call out has been made for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from Australian research organisations interested in becoming a part of the AFWI network and supporting its focus on forest and wood products research.
AFWI will create opportunities for innovation and the commercialisation of new knowledge, while supporting the development of forest and wood product industry researchers.
This initiative will put the Australian forest and wood products industry on the front foot, by supporting research, development and innovation.
The AFWI headquarters and the first of the three research centres will be based at the UTAS campus in Launceston. The Australian Government is now seeking EOIs from research organisations interested in joining AFWI in delivering innovative forestry research and development.
Assistant Secretary for the Australian Government’s Agvet Chemicals and Forestry Branch Julie Gaglia said the new research centres will support long-term innovation in the forest and wood products industry.
“The centres will focus on different research themes which are likely to include supporting Australian made solutions to climate change, sustainable forest management, and future wood supply,” Gaglia said.
The AFWI research centres will work collaboratively with industry to conduct research that meets the real world needs of the sector and can be easily adopted.
“With growing demand for wood and fibre products both domestically and internationally, and the impacts of climate change, we need to deliver research that supports the management of our forests, and the wood and fibre products they produce,” Gaglia said.
“This new research will help Australian forest growers, and wood and fibre processors prepare for future demand.
“The total export value of Australian forest and wood products for 2020-21 was more than $2.9 billion. This initiative will support industry’s work towards increasing this value while creating career opportunities.”
EOIs will help to identify the most appropriate research organisations to be contracted. Commonwealth Government funding for the research centres, established under the $100 million UTAS grant for the program, will be available from 2023-24 to 2026-27.
EOIs are open to eligible organisations until Wednesday 6 December 2023 (AEST).
More details are available by clicking here.
