GOZDARSKI INSTITUT SLOVENIJE

Their core work

The Slovenian Forestry Institute (GIS) is Slovenia's national research centre for forest science, providing expertise in forest inventory, monitoring, genetic resources, and sustainable wood supply chains. They develop data products and decision support systems for forest and land management, bridging ecological research with practical tools for policymakers and the bioeconomy sector. Their work spans from tracking forest disturbances and biodiversity to promoting bioenergy uptake and wood mobilisation across European regions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015–2018, GIS focused on foundational forest data infrastructure — harmonised forest inventories, bioeconomy outlooks, bioenergy market development, and capacity building for renewable heat. From 2018 onward, their work shifted toward applied land management tools, climate resilience, and forest genetic resources, with growing emphasis on digital solutions (DSS, HPC modelling) and biodiversity conservation. Their largest and most recent project (FORGENIUS, EUR 619K) signals a clear pivot toward genetic diversity and adaptive forest management.

GIS is moving from data collection and energy market support toward climate adaptation and forest genetic resources — expect them to seek partners in genomics, climate modelling, and digital forestry tools.

How they like to work

GIS operates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, which suggests they contribute deep domain expertise rather than leading project management. With 117 unique partners across 32 countries in just 8 projects, they work in large, broad consortia — typical of EU-wide coordination and support actions. This makes them a reliable, well-networked contributor who can plug into large partnerships without friction.

GIS has built a remarkably wide network for its size: 117 unique partners across 32 countries from only 8 projects. This reflects participation in large pan-European forestry and land-use networks, giving them connections across virtually all EU member states.

What sets them apart

GIS sits at the intersection of forest science and practical land-use policy — a combination that few research institutes cover end-to-end. As a national forestry institute from a heavily forested Central European country (60% forest cover), they bring both ecological expertise and real-world forest management experience. Their progression from inventory data to genetic resources and climate adaptation positions them well for the growing EU focus on forest resilience and the bioeconomy.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FORGENIUS
  Their largest project by far (EUR 619K, 4x their average), signalling a strategic commitment to forest genetic resources and biodiversity — likely their flagship H2020 involvement.
• ROSEWOOD / ROSEWOOD4.0
  Rare case of a follow-up project (ROSEWOOD then ROSEWOOD4.0), showing GIS helped build a lasting European wood mobilisation network that evolved to include digitalisation.
• LANDSUPPORT
  Brought GIS into agricultural land management and decision support systems, expanding their profile beyond pure forestry into broader land-use and climate resilience.