The main goal of the WoodCircus is to increase knowledge, raise awareness and improve conditions for an uptake of resource efficient processing and recycling in wood-based value chains, fostering increased competitiveness of the European woodworking sector. WoodCircus identifies, evaluates and disseminates the outstanding good practises in process efficiency, wood waste collection, management and recycling in the woodworking value chains in Europe with a focus on construction with wood. Achieving a thorough evaluation of the overall system’s performance and a validation of the most relevant transferable solutions, WoodCircus produces sound, critical evidence and tangible decision support information for market actors, stakeholders and policymakers. WoodCircus establishes a well-integrated network between wood processing industries and the waste management sector engaging excellence for future-oriented joint promotion of the wood sector in the Circular Bioeconomy. WoodCircus implements the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy and the EU Bioeconomy Strategy targets ensuring intelligent utilisation of forest resources and sets up an interface to the EC Raw Materials Information System and the JRC Bioeconomy Knowledge Centre . WoodCircus major outcomes are: 1) Good practice database; 2) Open competition on individual good practice showcases and award to SMEs; 3) Performance and sustainability assessment; 4) Validated best performing supply chain typology for broad transfer; 5) RDTI plan wood industries towards the Circular Economy;(6) White Paper including policy recommendations and communication strategies; 7) WoodCircus Network, established on solid commitments from partners and stakeholders for follow-up beyond the project lifetime. WoodCircus is based on a balanced mix of leading RTO and companies with proven expertise all along the woodworking and construction value chains including waste valorisation and associations at local, national and international level.

VERAM aims to provide an umbrella and coordination function for the raw materials related research and innovation activities across the relevant ETPs and their national technology platforms (while maintaining the flexibility and individual visions of each ETP network) as well as related other stakeholders across the raw materials value chain in order to increase synergies and facilitate uptake of research results and innovation across the sectors and their value chains. The project will encourage capacity building as well as transfer of knowledge and innovation capability. It will coordinate the network of people involved in the different Horizon 2020 and other projects and initiatives and will provide a platform for identifying gaps and complementarities and bridge these. We will also advise the European Commission and national governments of future research needs and tools to stimulate innovation and assist in overcoming the fragmentation in the implementation of the EIP on RM SIP. We will look for mutually beneficial information exchange, encourage cross-fertilization between actions undertaken by different raw material industries and will speed-up exploitation of breakthrough innovations. The final result of the activities will be a common long term 2050 vision and roadmap for the relevant raw materials, including metals, industrial minerals and aggregates and wood. The following main deliverables are foreseen as major project results: • Deliver a mapping of on-going initiatives in the field of raw materials at the EU and Member States level as well as regional and local levels, both from the R&I and policy side. The mapping will also consider other international initiatives. • Propose a 2050 roadmap/research agenda for raw materials in coordination and cooperation with all stakeholders across the value chain, based on a comprehensive gap analysis while paying close attention to the specificities of critical industrial sectors as well as possible synergies.

The EUFORE project supports the preparation for a possible European research and innovation partnership on forests under the Horizon Europe Programme. It aims to develop a sustainable, transnational, co-creative environment to define, implement and evaluate research and innovation (R&I) agendas and roadmaps for the entire forest-based value chains in Europe. The project will assess and outline research needs, and provide a platform for increased R&I cooperation, coordination and joint funding for forestry and the forest-based sector, thus supporting the implementation of the new EU forest strategy. EUFORE outputs include a strategic R&I agenda for forestry and the forest-based sector (SRIA), along with accompanying implementation measures and stakeholder commitments. These will be co-designed with key relevant actors, in a multi-actor approach. The project team will facilitate and strive to implement broad stakeholder engagement via diverse participation mechanisms, all designed to instil a sense of co-ownership of the SRIA preparation process and thus secure support for its implementation. To enable its stakeholders to reach informed decisions, EUFORE will provide them with all the relevant information that is needed, in formats suitable for a wide range of audiences. This will entail: a review of European R&I activity in the sector, funding and governance; information on societal expectations towards the sector; analysis of the policy environment and its R&I implications; and foresight on how the sector might develop, and what the future supply of and demand for its ecosystem services and products may be.