Gestión de la innovación, hubs digitales, clusters, explotación (transversal)

iBioNet (Intelligent Bioenergy Network) is a spin-off of the University of Florence, established in 2015.
iBioNet supports the local communities through the development of renewable energies and guarantees the environmental and social sustainability. Furthermore, iBioNet promotes wood-energy supply chains, assists the enterprises and the local communities. iBioNet supports the energy production togheter with the maintenance strategy into the local framework. iBioNet promotes the biomass energy to reduce the GHG emissions and as drive force for the rural economy and forest management.

iBioNet pays particular attention to the growth of a sustainable economic model, compatible with the economic and ethical development of local companies, thanks to the coherence between the core business of "renewable companies", based on principles of environmental sustainability and efficient use of resources.

iBioNet’s services are:
•       Planning and design of biomass supply chains, through specific analyses and the development of web applications that allow an assessment of the sustainability of the new energy plants.
•      Biofuel Certification Service and emissions analyses aimed at certifying the quality of solid fuels (wood chips). In particular, iBioNet issues quality certification of solid biomass samples, according to the UNI EN ISO standard.
• iBioNet also produces and installs SensorWebEnergy (SWE) and Air Quality (AIRQ) remote monitoring systems and able to determine: the first the quantity and quality of biomass supplied to the plants; the energy eventually produced; the overall performance of the plant, weighed against climatic and electricity consumption data; whereas the second, weather data and emission value data of CO2; CO; NO2; VOC; PM10; PM2.5 . SWE and AIRQ data are sent in real time to the web platform (www.ibionet.eu) to be processed and made immediately available to the users.

The objective of the OPTIM'indus action is to provide tailored support to develop the performance and competitiveness of companies by providing keys to meet the challenges facing the industry. It is financed by Europe, the Fund for Innovation in Industry, the New Aquitaine region and the OPCAIM (Joint Organisation for the Authorised Collection of Metallurgy Industries).
3 development axes are proposed to companies:
1) Project support
2) Skills development
3) Development of professional networks

The support of the company's projects is divided into several stages:
- expertise in skills and vocational training needs and an industrial diagnosis to define new technical orientations,
- assistance in improving processes, tools and product development, for example by carrying out a feasibility study or by putting partners, consultants or experts in contact with each other.
- proposal for financial assistance
OPTIM'indus offers Master Classes, training days or courses for executives, managers or technicians to develop skills.
It runs "Industry of the Future" clubs where companies meet and exchange ideas.

The project consists of creating a shared tool in the form of an online platform to facilitate the evaluation of supply plans and to limit conflicts of use from forest resources.
The tool integrates data related to the availability of the wood resource, taking into account harvests and past forest removals as well as the potential for additional wood energy and industrial wood harvesting. It thus provides an up-to-date view of the wood energy and wood industry resource at the departmental level.
In addition, the consumption of recent and planned biomass boiler is indicated in order to calculate the supply and demand balance for a territory.

Currently, the platform is tested and revised after feedback from users and experts associated with the project. It appears necessary to consolidate data on resource availability, biomass boiler consumption and other wood uses.

Data related to wood resources come from IGN inventories (National Institute for Geographic and Forestry Information), AGRESTE surveys (service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food) and ADEME studies (Environment and Energy Management Agency).
With a single tool, it is possible to :
- monitor harvests and wood consumption at the departmental level,
- estimate the additional resource,
- use indicators of the capacity to mobilize the resource.
The platform provides summary tables on resource availability and a boiler consumption database. It allows users to monitor the evolution over time of biomass boiler and wood resource consumption.  
It also provides related indicators to estimate the strain on the resource. Users can simulate the impact of a new boiler installation on their territory.
This type of tool appears necessary and useful both for public bodies for the implementation of their policy, and for industrialists who wish to develop their activities.

FORETDATA is an operational collaborative platform for all stakeholders in the forest-wood-paper sector. It aims to improve knowledge of their activities by exchanging data. The platform makes it possible to obtain summaries at the level of the territory on the forest activity and to follow for each company their activities in relation to their data entry.
The mayors of municipalities can monitor the number of logging sites and their execution periods thanks to the platform.

The platform is developed only in New Aquitaine but it is possible to extend it to other regions. To function, it was necessary to establish a relationship of trust for rights management and application security.
The syntheses resulting from the platform are used as a means of communication with elected representatives in order to show the reality of forestry and to clarify the obstacles and their stakes.

Each forestry contractor fills in data related to the logging site (type of work, surface area, date of intervention, estimated volume, characteristics of the land) in order to fill out the online site opening declaration forms and safety data sheets. These are then sent directly to the services concerned (municipalities, DDT).
The sites are all mapped under GIS and the data referenced.
The users of the platform benefit:
- an online mapping tool that allows you to consult the cartographic bottoms and regulatory zoning
- of a drawing tool,
- of a shared directory,
- the production of standardised documents
- a platform for information exchange between companies.
In 2017, 182,000 ha were recorded on the platform, equivalent to 5,000 ha / month.
Currently, about twenty companies use the platform. The tool makes it possible to divide by 3 the time for a company to produce administrative documents.

IDWOOD aims to promote and foster innovation and competitiveness of SMEs in the wood sector in the SEE area by sharing and transferring technical and organizational know-how to enable local support organizations to address structural deficits of SMEs and enhance innovation potentials.

Inclusion of both, stakeholders and policy makers, is of great importance and beneficial for both. Stakeholders are given the opportunity to strengthen their organizational and technical capacities, to develop new functions, to participate to working groups and to be actively involved in networking activities. Policy makers receive guidelines and advice on support policies to foster sector’s development.

Results of the project are improved capacities of support organisations; transnational cooperation between support organisations, knowledge poles and productive sector; increased information flow towards SMEs; innovation, design and knowledge transferred to SMEs; sustainability of the transnational network/support system and SMEs cooperation after project end; increased knowledge of market opportunities.

Action plan “Wood is beautiful” is an operational document for increasing the competitiveness of the entire forest-wood value chain. The document defines wood as a strategic raw material of Slovenia, which has a lot of unexploited potential. The action plan sets out the objectives, measures, indicators and deadlines for intensifying forest management and for the revitalization and development of wood processing and the energy use of its residues. Due to the interdependence between all individual areas, all the measures foreseen should be implemented. This way the document can contribute to the competitiveness of the entire forest-wood chain, job creation and high added value in the Slovenian wood processing industry. Key objectives of the action plan are to create a market for timber products and services, to increase forest management and conservation in line with forest management plans, to increase the amount and processing of timber at higher levels of difficulty with new technologies, to create new jobs and growth in added value per employee in the wood processing industry. The action plan again places Slovene wood processing industry among strategically important and promising industries with a sufficient amount of domestic raw material.

Machinery ring is a social organization that offers support services for farmers and forest owners. It is a form of the use of machines between farms based on mutual neighborly assistance. Members of a machinery ring are owners of agricultural and/or forestry machinery and they can also provide services to other members at prices agreed. The machinery ring ensures coordination and dialogue between service providers and users.

Experience of the first years of operation show good results. The amount of work increases year by year. Forest owners are provided with a comprehensive service, from harvesting forest trees to selling timber, processing residues in wood chips and selling chips. They are able to achieve better prices at market. The machinery ring is a good and innovative example of linking forest owners, which by increasing efficiency and professionalism enables increased mobilization of wood from private forests, better silviculture of these forests and higher returns for individual owners.

Forest owners have access to high-quality hardware that cannot be afforded by individual owners. The machinery ring also provides expert advice and the purchase and sale of wood, including biomass for heating, and agricultural services. In the framework of the machinery ring, the training of owners for work in the forest and professional excursions are organized in cooperation with the Forest Service. The members also receive various discounts when purchasing forestry equipment. To make better use of machinery and work on a larger scale, they set up a limited liability company SK Servis, which deals with felling, harvesting and sale of wood, the production and sale of wood chips and the construction and maintenance of skid roads.

A network of 42,000 km of DFCI tracks covers Aquitaine. In the Landes de Gascogne, the service network is the largest with 3.38 km per 100 ha of forest. These trails have a dual interest: fire fighting and access to forest sites for forestry equipment. They serve as firebreaks between forest plots and facilitate access to both fire and rescue services and logging operations. These forest tracks were created and are now maintained by DFCI's 241 ASAs (authorized syndical association) as well as private and public owners.

There are currently difficulties in renewing volunteers in these ASAs that lead to a loss of technical knowledge. The legislative and accounting context is becoming increasingly complex, which can become an obstacle to owners' involvement in the management of ASAs.
The regional Association of Aquitaine DFCI leads and accompanies the network of volunteers, particularly in the preparation of grant applications and public contracts.

DCFI’s ASAs are registered trade syndical associations of forest owners with the aim of maintaining infrastructure of collective and public interest at common expense. The ASAs are public establishments, under prefectural supervision, managed by the owners. They became compulsory throughout the Landes de Gascogne massif following the 1945 ordinance. An ASA has a delimited perimeter where all owners located inside become members. The ASA has work done to create and maintain tracks, ditches, water points and drilling. A contribution is required from members in order to finance the operation. The rules concerning the eligibility of owners for this contribution are laid down by the ASAs. Taxes average around 2.5 to 3 €/ha/year. Currently 2,500 volunteer forest owners are involved in the ASA, coordinated by the DFCI Aquitaine (association law 1901).

Futurobois is a registered association, operating by voluntary membership.
The objective of the interprofessional association is to unite professionals in the forest-wood-paper sector within an association to exchange and meet. Futurobois' main mission is to promote and inform professionals, local authorities and the general public about the use of wood products.
They help member companies to find solutions to enable their economic, technical, human and environmental development.
Futurobois' team consists of 5 people.

Futurobois operates mainly thanks to funding from the region, the State, Europe and the national interprofessional organisation (France Bois Forêt). The remainder comes from membership fees and services rendered. They are the 4th largest interprofessional association in France in terms of number of member companies and 8th in terms of budget.
They provide technical knowledge on wood materials to architects and try to better understand their needs in wood construction.
Assistance is offered to project managers to remove the blocking points concerning the use of wood in construction (fire risk, insect,...).

In June 2018, the interprofessional association had 237 members in 42 sectors, including forestry, primary processing, secondary processing and construction. The association's actions are the preparation and animation of:  
visits to sawmills, factories,
days of visits around wood processing: from the forest site to the secondary processing,
meetings dedicated to professionals by sector of activity (e.g. in 2018 meetings of furniture professionals),
steering committee for the development of poplar in New Aquitaine,
study trips abroad.
These visits allow companies to meet and give them better visibility with public or private project managers and elected officials.
The interprofessional organisation also helps companies to secure their supply and comply with regulatory frameworks for small companies. They offer them a catalogue of training courses on different themes (human resources, accounting, etc.)

The objective of the project is to provide a set of tools adapted to the needs of very small forestry and logging companies. ForLog is a forest site management software connected to a remote database accessible via the web. The software allows structured messages to be sent to field teams (mission orders) and customers (sales slips). A mobile application on a smartphone allows to enter data concerning construction site activities. The service offer is proposed to companies in the form of a subscription.

It is an innovative solution to improve the quality of silviculture and forestry operations accessible to very small, poorly computerized companies, and a solution that enhances the possibilities offered by the web, mobile Internet, computerized mapping.

All operations concerning the commercial (estimates, invoices), administrative (site declarations), operational (site maps, digitisation of exchanges between operators and site managers) and financial (site balance sheets) management of the sites are proposed by ForLog, which is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adapted to the organisation of very small forest companies. The objective of the tool is to limit the time spent on site management and improve the economic performance of forest companies. User feedback highlights:
- Easy handling of the tool;
- Time saved during administrative tasks;
- Ability to quickly access summary data on team activities (working hours, productivity, progress);
- Significant savings in travel time to access construction sites and locate boundaries;
- Improvement of the company's image towards its partners.