About Nextfor

Nextfor brings innovators together to collaborate, build value and drive innovation within Ontario’s forest-based bio-economy. Launched in 2018, Nextfor is an initiative of The Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE).

Aerial view of a forest taken by a drone

We work to:

Optimize Ontario’s traditional forest practices and industries. 

Nextfor helps Ontario’s primary forest industry meet their economic and sustainability goals. 

Develop cross-sectoral partnerships.

We connect Ontario’s forest resource providers with end users in need of low-carbon solutions.

Explore new market opportunities.

We leverage the knowledge of our network to identify market opportunities for Ontario’s forest-based products and technologies. 

Support emerging forest-based products and technologies.

Our targeted funding challenges help move products and technologies to market in Ontario and internationally. 

The Nextfor Approach

Through the Nextfor Approach, Nextfor builds high-functioning value chains in Ontario’s forest-based bio-economy.

1

Collaborate to define opportunities & barriers that need to be addressed

2

Roadmap clear goals & actions

3

Identify necessary projects & partners; track progress with public results

4

Funding (if available) will be provided to address barriers & develop market-based outcomes

Focus Areas

Nextfor is working to encourage market realization of innovation in the following areas:

Lignin

Identify opportunities to utilize lignin as a replacement for fossil fuels.

Learn More

Lignin

Screenshot of a map of Ontario showing train routes, major highways, ports and other infrastructure. Taken from the Forest EDGE
A screenshot of a map showing hexagons of varying darkness of green, indicating amounts of available wood in the Thunder Bay region
Screenshot of a pie chart showing volume of wood by species, taken from the Forest EDGE

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ForestEDGE

A geospatially enabled set of tools developed by CRIBE to help drive economic development in Ontario’s Forest-Based Bio-Economy.

Explore ForestEDGE