CESEFOR (www.cesefor.com) is a private non-profit Foundation founded in Castile and León (Spain) in January 2003. It’s a services provider for the promotion of forestry and forest-based industries with an international mandate. The Foundation contributes to the regional development, competitiveness and sustainability of the forestry industries that use regional forest resources. In order to do this, Cesefor brings together a range of services: capacity building, consultancy and training. 

Cesefor employs almost 100 people (45% women and 55% men). The average age is 40. It is a multidisciplinary team, 90% of whose staff is highly qualified.

The Board of Directors of the Foundation is made up of the Province of Soria (PA), the University of Valladolid and the Federation of regional Associations of Private Forest Owners.

One of the main objectives of the Foundation is to promote forest products as a key to preserve the economic sustainability of rural activities, through the use of information technologies: pioneering but easy to use. Cesefor contributes to the sustainable development of the forestry sector and of the industry that uses environmental resources, focusing on job creation and added value. R&D projects help to bridge the gap between the sustainability of the forest sector, ensuring investment, profitability and economic sustainability in rural areas.

Cesefor is highly experienced in communication & dissemination: graphic design, web page development and management, social media, event planning and organization, newsletters and media work. Cesefor publishes IndForma: the leading e-newsletter of the Spanish forestry sector.  Finally, it is important to highlight the very active role of Cesefor in the UE forestry related Networking: it is a full member of the European Forest Institute (EFI); it’s member of the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Model Forest Network (MMFN); it’s member of the IUFRO Network and part of the Steering Committee of the Network of European Regions for Innovation in Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ERIAFF). Cesefor is also member of the Innovawood Network and the FAO SilvaMed’s Collaborative Partnership for the Mediterranean Forest (in this framework. Cesefor co-organizes the Mediterranean Forest Week every 2 years). In the framework of two important H2020 CSAs, Cesefor has responsibility roles, such as Hub Manager in the Rosewood Network (wood market) and “Inet” Leader of the Incredible Network (non-wood forest products). Finally, Cesefor is part of the WoodRise Alliance network for high-rise timber construction.