WIFORCE is the faculty's largest research programme, offering unprecedented opportunities for collaboration between researchers and stakeholders. This initiative includes a major graduate school, field research-based collaborative projects and a new data support centre. It is funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW), Sweden's largest private research funding body.
The purpose is to increase understanding of all the processes that affect forest growth, survival and biodiversity. The initiative aims to build a solid knowledge base for sustainable and resilient forestry, where trade-offs between production, biodiversity and carbon sequestration can be made on a scientific basis. KAW sees this as a defining issue for Swedish forestry and the Swedish forest industry.
The new initiative consists of three components.
First: A graduate school with more than 50 doctoral students, including 16 doctoral students externally employed by the forest industry, authorities and other stakeholders. Most are now in place. To gain a holistic view, doctoral students will follow a joint course package focusing on both forest production and biodiversity.
Second: Field research-based ‘Arena projects’. Here, researchers and stakeholders collaborate on joint field research experiments, which are analysed from multiple perspectives and disciplines. An introductory workshop will be held in Stockholm on 23 April for researchers and stakeholders to discuss possible collaborative projects.
Third: A new data support centre. The idea is to gather all relevant large-scale forest data in one place, preparing them for supercomputer calculations and combined analysis. The aim is to build advanced AI-based models. The work is carried out in collaboration with Umeå University and the HPC2N supercomputing cluster. Researchers will receive computational support and access to advanced AI expertise through collaborations with major KAW ventures on AI. In the long term, these analyses and models will contribute to the next generation of decision support systems that will replace Heureka.
WIFORCE also covers research in the social sciences and humanities. This is done through 13 research projects funded by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation and the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Memorial Fund. This brings additional perspectives to the management of the forest resource, opening the way for more interdisciplinary projects and broader doctoral programmes.
WIFORCE (Wallenberg Initiatives in Forest Research) is a strategic, basic science research programme funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW). KAW is Sweden's largest private research funding body and annually distributes several billion SEK to support basic research.
About half of the funds are allocated through open calls. The other half are strategic initiatives where KAW takes the initiative to support research areas where they believe Sweden needs to be stronger. Examples include initiatives in artificial intelligence (WASP), quantum computing (WACQT), new materials (WISE and WWSC) and life sciences (SciLifeLab, DDLS, WCMM, HPA).
In 2016, KAW decided to make a strategic investment in research in forest biology and forest biotechnology at the Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC). This was then complemented by an initiative on future forestry at the Department of Forest Ecology and Management. With the experience gained from these initiatives, KAW decided in 2024 to broaden and consolidate the initiative under the name WIFORCE – now with the entire Faculty of Forest Sciences as a base.
All in all, WIFORCE offers completely new opportunities for research, collaboration and doctoral education at the Faculty of Forest Sciences. Big things are on the horizon!
Ove Nilsson
Vice dean for strategic development
Programme director WIFORCE