The Future of Forestry project, part of the overarching Regional Workforce Development in Rural BC program, is focused on better understanding the fundamental issues facing the forestry sector today. One of the project’s objectives is to understand the role of technology and innovation in the future of the forestry sector.

Between August and December 2017, 30 targeted interviews were completed with participants from the forestry sector in the Columbia-Basin Boundary region of British Columbia (BC), Canada (18) and Scotland, United Kingdom (12). Participants included representation from academic, government, industry, and other civil organizations (e.g., professional bodies). Participants were asked questions about the role and primary application of technology and innovation in the forestry sector today, what major changes participants had seen and the impacts these changes have had, and what their expectations were for the future.

This document has two objectives:
1) To summarize initial impressions from the data related specifically to technology and innovation; and
2) To provide these initial impressions to participants for their review and comment.