Guidance

Regional woodland restoration Innovation Fund

Find out about the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Fund - Regional woodland restoration. There will be a number of funds based in regions around the country.

• From: Forestry Commission
• Published: 20 May 2021
• Last updated: 8 December 2023 — See all updates

Applies to England

• Guidance for Northern Ireland
• Guidance for Scotland
• Guidance for Wales

The fund is currently closed for applications.

Find out about the Woods into Management - Regional Woodland Restoration Innovation Funds and how you can compete for funding to help improve the ecological condition of existing woodlands.

Invitation to apply

There will be a number of funds based in regions around the country, details of each of the funds are available here:

Most of our woodlands have been managed in the past to provide timber and fuel. This management has shaped and maintained the habitats that support the plants and animals enjoyed and valued by society today. Presently around 41% of our woodlands are not actively managed and this can have a negative impact on the biodiversity they contain. Active management is needed to help woodland adapt to climate change and ensure carbon stocks are protected in the long term. As well as helping to mitigate climate change, well managed, accessible, woodlands provide benefits to the health and wellbeing of communities and improve the quality of water and air.

The aim of the Woods into Management (WiM) Forestry Innovation Funds, as part of government’s Nature for Climate Fund, is to encourage and broaden innovation in forestry. Through the Regional Woodland Restoration Innovation Funds, the Forestry Commission are looking to support proposals that will bring increased areas of woodland into active management and improve their ecological condition. In 2023, up to £1.7million will be made available through the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds to support innovative project work.

The threats faced by our woodlands and the biodiversity they support are numerous and varied. They include a lack of adaptation and mitigation to climate change, diseases such as ash dieback and Phytophthora ramorum, insect pests, over grazing by deer and ring barking by grey squirrels. In addition, in many parts of the country there are opportunities to restore conifer and hardwood plantations on ancient woodland sites and to improve the condition of woodland SSSI’s. The extent of these threats and opportunities varies across the country.

To reflect this variation, five Regional Woodland Restoration Innovation Funds have been developed through collaboration with the regional Forest and Woodland Advisory Committees to identify priority areas for activity across the regions. The funds are open to a range of organisations including (but not limited to) forestry businesses, woodland management companies, conservation groups and membership organisations and consortiums in a position to accelerate the restoration and improvement of woodlands. We welcome bids that demonstrate collaborative working amongst businesses, private and public woodland owners. We would also encourage bids from membership organisations and Local Authorities to support projects that will bring more woods into active management through engagement with members and local community groups. We are particularly interested in proposals that can demonstrate scalability and would encourage applicants to explore how their ideas could be rolled out at a regional or national level to maximise impact.

Urban forestry projects are eligible for funding and might explore how benefits including recreation, education, biodiversity, and new timber markets have potential to incentivise woodland management practices and improve ecological condition. Projects may incorporate an element of original research but must include significant practical application.

Applicants should ensure that proposals conform to the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS). Where appropriate, we will work with applicants to target and develop new ways of writing and approving UKFS compliant management plans. Where possible, organisations including the Small Woods Association, the Woodland Trust and the Forestry Commission will share information on woodland ownership and type together with lessons learned from previous woodland management initiatives.

Further details on each of the five regional innovation funds can be found below.

About the North West and West Midlands Innovation Fund

There are 226,000ha of woodland in the West Midlands and North West. The Forest and Woodland Advisory Committees of the North West and West Midlands have identified the following barriers to increasing woodland management:

• an absence of easy first steps for owners to understand their woodland and its values (value = social, environmental, tax, timber income), implement management and operational plans designed to improve habitat condition and resilience to climate change. Many owners are not foresters and may not be inclined to engage with either the Forestry Commission or traditional forestry businesses
• fragmented ownership of woodlands. Many woodlands are small, and it is not always viable to actively manage these woods in isolation
• an absence of skills and awareness, site specific information on woodland condition, woodland inventory and the value of standing timber makes it difficult for some owners to identify management objectives for their woodlands
• tree heath issues and catastrophic windblow events. Woods heavily damaged by tree pests and diseases such as ash dieback and windblow events such as Storm Arwen make woodland management challenging and viewed as unviable by landowners
• lack of routes to market for woodland management products

We encourage applications for projects that result in:

• more woodlands with long term, UKFS compliant, woodland management plans, and associated activity focused on habitat improvement and maintenance and security of carbon stocks
• a conveyor belt of new felling licence applications and applications to Countryside Stewardship
• restored Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites and appropriate improvements to the conservation status of woodland SSSI’s
• more resilient woodlands containing suitable species and provenances tolerant to climate change, ensuring long term carbon sequestration potential is maintained or improved
• demystifying woodland management to non-expert owners
• new incomes streams to help owners maintain and improve woodlands in the long term
• the creation of new woodland management partnerships
• market pull for locally sourced timber products
• restoration of temperate rainforests along England’s Atlantic fringe
• greater resilience against extreme weather events such as windblow

About the South East and London Innovation Fund

There are 325,000ha of woodland in the South East (SE) & London. 43% is ancient woodland, including traditional systems such as coppice and coppice with standards.

There are thousands of woodland owners across the SE & London, from a wide variety of backgrounds and with varied understanding of sustainable management. Lots of the woodlands are fragmented in the landscape, with some woodlands subdivided into multiple ownership.

According to official figures, only around half of the woodlands in the South East are in active management and evidence shows that lack of management results in a loss of benefits including biodiversity. A lack of woodland management has been a long-standing issue, so we are seeking innovative ways that create a step change.

Barriers to Woodland Management in SE England

The Forest and Woodland Advisory Committees of the South East and London have identified the following barriers to increasing woodland management:

• fragmented ownership of woodlands. Many woodlands are small, and it is not always viable to actively manage these woods in isolation
• a lack of knowledge about the ownership and management of woodlands that the Forestry Commission is not in contact with
• a lack of easy guidance and support that takes inexperienced woodland owners on a journey from awareness of woodland management benefits to delivering operations within a UKFS compliant management plan
• an absence of skills and awareness, site specific information on woodland condition, woodland inventory and the value of standing timber makes it difficult for some owners to identify management objectives for their woodlands
• tree health issues, in particular ash dieback, which can make woodland management challenging and viewed as unviable by landowners
• control of deer and grey squirrel populations to allow natural regeneration, and to protect woodland habitats and biodiversity

We encourage applications for projects that result in:

• more woodlands with long term, UK Forestry Standard compliant, woodland management plans, and associated activity focused on habitat improvement and maintenance and security of carbon stocks
• a pipeline of new felling licence applications and applications to Countryside Stewardship woodland improvement, woodland infrastructure and woodland tree health grant schemes
• restored Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites and appropriate improvements to the conservation status of woodland SSSI’s
• more engaged woodland owners, including demystifying woodland management to non-expert owners
• more resilient woodlands containing suitable species and provenances tolerant to climate change, as well as resilience to extreme weather events such as drought and wildfire, ensuring long term carbon sequestration potential is maintained or improved
• new income streams to help owners maintain and improve woodlands in the long term
• fewer gaps in local, regional, and national timber supply chains
• routes to market for venison and improvements to the management of deer and grey squirrel populations
• an improved understanding of standing timber/ carbon volumes through the use of novel remote sensing technologies such as LiDAR

About the Yorkshire and North East Innovation Fund

The Yorkshire and North East Area contains over 228,000 hectares of woodland ranging from important habitat networks of Ancient Woodlands through to large productive conifer forests. The area also contains a significant amount of woodland area which is not under active management which could deliver greater benefits.

The Forest and Woodland Advisory Committees of Yorkshire and The Humber and the North East have identified the following key barriers to increasing woodland management activity:

• limited contact between woodland owners and the sector giving rise to a potential lack of understanding of the value, benefits and route to active woodland management This is exacerbated by a lack of an easily understood pathway to develop and deliver management plans
• fragmented ownership of woodlands. Many woodlands are small and it is not always viable to actively manage these woods in isolation
• an absence of skills and awareness, site specific information on woodland condition, woodland inventory and the value of standing timber makes it difficult for some owners to identify appropriate management objectives for their woodlands
• tree heath issues and catastrophic windblow events. Woods heavily damaged by tree pests and diseases such as ash dieback and windblow events such as Storm Arwen make woodland management challenging and viewed as unviable by landowners

We encourage applications for projects that result in:

• more woodlands with long term, UK Forestry Standard compliant, woodland management plans, and associated activity focused on habitat and biosecurity improvements, in addition to the maintenance and security of carbon stocks
• an increase in active management through felling licence applications and applications to Countryside Stewardship woodland improvement, woodland infrastructure and woodland tree health grant schemes
• increase in the restoration of the area Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites and appropriate improvements to the conservation status of woodland SSSI’s particularly focused at known clusters/networks of ancient woodlands
• increased resilience of woodlands looking to ensure suitable species, diversity and provenances tolerant to climate change, as well as adaptation to extreme weather events such as windblow, to deliver long term carbon sequestration
• educating and supporting non-expert owners on the basic principles of woodland management including the benefits of active management and how to obtain appropriate professional support
• new income streams to help owners manage, maintain, and improve woodlands in the long term

Any proposal, if proposed for certain geographical areas of Yorkshire and the North East, should seek to complement and be separate to the work of existing Woodland / Forest partnerships that are carrying out Landowner Engagement work or similar for either woodland management or woodland creation.

About the East of England and East Midlands Innovation Fund

There are 256,000ha of woodland in the East of England and the East Midlands, 108,000ha of which is currently unmanaged.

The Forest and Woodland Advisory Committees of the East of England and the East Midlands have identified the following barriers to increasing woodland management:

• many woods are fragmented. Challenges include managing at economic scale, landowner motivations and collaboration. Many woods, both in long term ownership, and a growing number in new ownership are unknown to the Forestry Commission
• there is a forestry and conservation skills and knowledge gap across many disciplines including planning, assessment and practical management of woods
• woodlands are being impacted by climate change, with the East of England particularly affected, being one of the driest regions of the UK. This amplifies the issues around long-term resilience of our woods, and the need to manage the impact of tree pests (including mammals) and diseases, often going unrecognized as an issue, or the management considered a burden to landowners
• a lack of awareness of the potential natural capital benefits of sustainably managed woodland. For example, income from Carbon Credits and Offsetting, Biodiversity Net Gain and Water Quality Credits
• control of deer and grey squirrel populations to allow natural regeneration, and to protect woodland habitats and biodiversity

We encourage applications for projects that result in:

• collaborative action at a landscape scale to identify and address common objectives and promote a coherent approach to the management of fragmented areas of woodland
• improving the ecological condition of woodlands, in particular Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) and Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW) which are under threat from factors such as climate change, pests and diseases and under-management
• an improved understanding amongst landowners of the natural capital benefits of sustainably managed woodlands. In particular, we would encourage projects that will better enable landowners to realise these benefits
• the development of new woodland management partnerships and models that make full use of connections with developers or investors requiring Biodiversity Net Gain, or Carbon and Water Quality Credits
• an improved understanding of priority areas for woodland management in the East and East Midlands, and implementation of strategies designed to improve management in these areas
• new woodland finance models that can be used to make previously undermanaged sites economically viable to manage
• market pull for venison and improvements to the management of deer and grey squirrel populations
• market pull for locally sourced timber and coppice products
• collaborative action around rewetting woodlands for climate change resilience and biodiversity
• upskilling both woodland management planning (including assessment of condition) and practical skills

We are particularly interested in proposals which bring together data sets that evaluate the existing barriers to bring woodlands into management. Scoping projects could also focus on areas such as priority mapping, the vulnerability of woodlands to disease, condition surveys and monitoring mammal density populations to identify regional opportunities and priorities for targeted action.

About the South West Innovation Fund

There are some 250,000ha of woodland in the South West nearly half of which is classed as ‘undermanaged’.

The Forest and Woodland Advisory Committee of the South West has identified the following key barriers to increasing woodland management activity:

• an absence of easy first steps for owners to understand their woodland and its values implement management and operational plans designed to improve habitat condition and resilience to climate change. Many owners are not foresters and may not be inclined to engage with either the Forestry Commission or traditional forestry businesses
• fragmented ownership of woodlands. Many woodlands are small and difficult to access, and it is not always viable to actively manage these woods in isolation
• an absence of skills and awareness, site specific information on woodland condition, woodland inventory and the value of standing timber and other natural capital values makes it difficult for some owners to identify management objectives for their woodlands
• tree heath issues and catastrophic windblow events. Woods heavily damaged by tree pests and diseases such as ash dieback and windblow events such as Storm Eunice make woodland management challenging and viewed as unviable by landowners

We encourage applications for projects that result in:

• more woodlands with long term, UK Forestry Standard compliant, woodland management plans, and associated activity focused on habitat improvement and maintenance and security of carbon stocks
• a conveyor belt of new felling licence applications and applications to Countryside Stewardship woodland improvement, woodland infrastructure and woodland tree health grant schemes
• restored Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites and appropriate improvements to the conservation status of woodland SSSI’s
• more resilient woodlands containing suitable species, species mixes, diversity and provenances tolerant to climate change, and extreme weather events such as drought and wildfire, ensuring long term carbon sequestration potential is maintained or improved
• improving woodland biodiversity, providing water flow and quality benefits, helping soil conservation and the minimising damage to sites
• the development of new woodland management partnerships and models that make full use of connections with developers or investors requiring Biodiversity Net Gain, or Carbon and Water Quality Credits
• market pull for locally sourced timber and coppice products
• new incomes streams to help owners maintain and improve woodlands in the long term
• demystifying woodland management to non-expert owners
• restoration of temperate rainforests along England’s Atlantic fringe

What funding is available

In 2023, up to £1.7million will be made available through the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds to support innovative project work. Proposals, whether single or multi-year, must have a minimum total cost of £20K to be eligible for funding. Projects may be costed at up to a maximum of £100K in any given financial year.

Eligible costs that may be claimed will include:

• personnel costs related to researchers, and other supporting staff to the extent employed on the project
• costs of equipment for the period of the project. Where such equipment is not used for their full life only the depreciation costs corresponding to the life of the project shall be eligible
• costs of contractual research, knowledge and patents bought or licensed from outside sources at arm’s-length conditions, as well as costs of consultancy and equivalent services used exclusively for the project
• operating expenses, including costs of materials, supplies and similar products, incurred directly as a result of the project
• travel and subsistence essential to the delivery of WiM Forestry Innovation Fund (FIF) grant activities, carried out in the most economically and sustainable way possible

The following expenditure is ineligible:

• costs or overheads such as rent, and utilities apportioned to those staff directly or indirectly employed on the project
• costs incurred outside of the project delivery window
• costs involved in preparing your application

Is my project eligible?

Projects can run for up to two financial years, ending 27 March 2025. Applicants submitting proposals spanning multiple financial years should state this on the application form and clearly outline the activities, milestones and outputs that will be delivered by the end of each financial year. Multi-year agreements will be subject to an annual performance monitoring review by the Forestry Commission (FC). Where applicants are failing to deliver against agreed outputs and objectives, or it becomes clear that avenues of research are no longer worth pursuing, multi-year agreements may be terminated at the discretion of the FC.

Work must address means by which, within one or more of the five FC regions, the ecological condition of woodlands can be improved. Applicants may also submit innovative proposals designed to facilitate woodland recovery from pest and disease outbreaks and adaptation to climate change.

To be eligible for funding the:

• work must be of direct relevance to means by which the ecological condition of woodlands may be improved
• project must look at innovative approaches not currently used in forestry in England
• project must be limited to pre-commercial activity
• lead partner must be a UK based business, sole trader, organisation, or research organisation
• majority of any project work must be undertaken in the England

How to apply

The fund is currently closed for applications.

Complete the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Fund Application Form and accompanying finance spreadsheet. Guidance for applicants is available on the application form page to help you complete you application.

Applications closed 15 May 2023.

The Forestry Commission will be hosted a “Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds – How to Apply” webinar event at 2pm on Monday 3 April. If you missed the webinar you can watch again.

A single stage application process will be followed.

Applications must be written in English, (without alterations to layout or format). Send your completed application and accompanying finance spreadsheet to wimfif@forestrycommission.gov.uk. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

In the application form you will be asked to provide details about:

• what the project aims to achieve and how it fits within the scope of the fund
• the approach you will take and where the focus of the innovation will be
• who is in the project team and what their roles are, including details of partner organisations
• the impact that the project might have outside of the project team
• how the project will be managed effectively
• the main risks for the project
• the impact that an injection of public funding would have on the project
• the cost of the project and how it represents value for money for the project team and for the taxpayer
• the activities to be funded and outputs/outcomes expected

All costs and financial details should be in £ Sterling.

All questions in the application form are mandatory and you must submit a finance spreadsheet as part of your application. If any part of your application is incomplete, your application will be returned to you within two working days for you to revise and resubmit before the deadline should you wish. If any part of your application is unclear, the Forestry Commission may contact you – at any time prior to informing you of a funding decision – to request further information. If you wish to amend your application before the published deadline or withdraw your application at any time, please email wimfif@forestrycommission.gov.uk.

There is no limit to the number of bids an applicant may submit provided each application is for a discrete and unique project.

Consortium applications are welcomed. A lead partner should be identified in the application. The lead applicant will become the sole agreement holder with the Forestry Commission; they will be responsible for the undertakings and obligations detailed in any grant agreement, in line with Terms and Conditions of Funding. If your application is successful, the lead applicant will become the sole agreement holder and will be the sole recipient of grant funding upon receipt of valid claims. The contractual arrangements held between the lead applicant and their co-applicants are not the responsibility of the Forestry Commission and the lead applicant will have sole responsibility for onward disbursal of grant funding to co-applicants, for example.

If you consider the information contained within your application to be commercially sensitive, you must notify the Forestry Commission of this when submitting your application.

The Forestry Commission reserves the right to change the deadline for applications or make changes to the Invitation to Apply and the application process at short notice.

The Forestry Commission reserves the right to amend, add to or withdraw all or any part of the funding application process at any time during the process. All changes are recorded at the bottom of this page (click ‘show all updates’) and where these are made following the opening date the lead applicant for all applications already received will be contacted directly by email. Material changes (for example to the closing date or eligibility rules) will also be communicated via the Forestry Commission’s Grants and Regulations eAlert.

If you wish to clarify any application requirements or the application process, please email wimfif@forestrycommission.gov.uk. We will aim to respond to all requests for clarification within two working days of receipt. If we consider information requests relevant to any applicant, we will provide additional guidance to all applicants (via point of contact provided) by email to ensure fair and openness. We may be unable to respond to other support requests due to the competitive bid process.

Applicants who canvass FC or Defra employees associated with these innovation funds may have their applications rejected from the process.

Applicants who are unable to accept standard terms and conditions may have their application eliminated from the application process.

The Forestry Commission reserves the right not to answer clarifications where it considers that the answer to that clarification would or would be likely to prejudice commercial interests.

How will applications be assessed?

All applications will be evaluated by a panel with expertise and experience of woodland management in England. Any applications deemed to fall outside the scope of the fund will not be evaluated.

Applicants will be notified of their WiM funding decision by 22 June 2023.

The Forestry Commission reserves the right to not award all of the funding available if insufficient bids of an appropriate quality are received.

The Forestry Commission may carry out checks on each application using a variety of government tools including the Cabinet Office’s automated grants due diligence tool called ‘Spotlight’ and Bank Account Verification software.

As part of due diligence process, the Forestry Commission may share details of the organisations involved in applications to this Innovation Fund with other parts of government.

The Forestry Commission will regard all eligible applications as remaining valid for 6 months after the initial closing date for applications. If the funds are oversubscribed and additional funds become available. Valid applications may be reconsidered for funding.

Reporting and payments

Grant holders will be required to complete an interim and end of year report in each financial year covered by their agreement. These reports will detail achievement against stated outcomes and outputs, lessons learnt, a complete cost breakdown outlining how the grant has been spent, and any need for further development.

Interim reports are due on 31 October (31 September in Year 2), and end of year reports are due by 27 March of each financial year. Templates for both interim and end of year reports will be provided to successful applicants. Payments may be withheld or reclaimed if reports are not submitted on time. Applicants will be encouraged to work with the Forestry Commission to publish a short article in a suitable trade press after the work has been completed.

Multi-year agreements will be subject to an annual performance monitoring review by the FC. Where applicants are failing to deliver against agreed outputs and objectives, or it becomes clear that avenues of research are no longer worth pursuing, multi-year agreements may be terminated at the discretion of the FC.

Projects must not begin before the start date of any grant agreement offered by the Forestry Commission.

Payments will be made in arrears by BACS transfer following receipt of claim forms. Payment of the claim will be made within 30 days of the FC approving your claim. In any given financial year, applicants will be able to submit claims at both the interim and end of year reporting stages, and on up to two additional dates chosen by the applicant. All claims must be supported by evidence of eligible expenditure (i.e., invoices/ timesheets) and, where not accompanied by an interim of end of year report, a progress update to demonstrate that works have been carried out as per the grant agreement.

Further information

Intellectual property shall remain with the grant recipients, but the scope of the project and a summary of the outcomes and outputs shall be made publicly available via forestry trade publications.

Applicants must declare if they have received, have applied for, or intend to apply for any other government funds.

The Forestry Commission is not responsible for any losses, breakages or injuries incurred by the applicant whilst engaged in activities associated with this Innovation Fund.

Neither FC nor its respective advisers, directors, officers, members, partners, employees, other staff or agents:

1. makes any representation or warranty (express or implied) as to the accuracy, reasonableness or completeness of this guidance; or

2. accepts any responsibility for the information contained in this guidance or for the fairness, accuracy or completeness of that information nor shall any of them be liable for any loss or damage (other than in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation) arising as a result of reliance on such information or any subsequent communication.

Contact the Forestry Commission

You can get further help from the Forestry Commission by emailing your enquiry to: WIMFIF@forestrycommission.gov.uk.

Make an appeal

Find out how to make a complaint or appeal.

Published 20 May 2021
Last updated 8 December 2023 + show all updates

1. 8 December 2023

   Added a note to confirm applications are now closed.

2. 13 March 2023

   Updated to reflect the fund reopening for 2023 applications

3. 8 March 2022

   Page updated to reflect the re-opening of the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds.

4. 22 June 2021

   Addition of information for the South West and South East and London innovation funds.

5. 15 June 2021

   Addition of the Innovation for the East and East Midlands area and Yorkshire and North East Innovation Funds.

6. 20 May 2021

   First published.