The Canadian Model Forest Program (CMFP) has been working towards influencing sustainable forest management (SFM) across Canada. The eleven Model Forest (MF) organizations across the country are consensus-based partnership organizations that bring together a diversity of forest stakeholders to dialogue together, and to plan and conduct research related to SFM in their region. The Canadian Model Forest Network (CMFN) is in its fourteenth year, and is in the process of redefining itself for a new phase of the program.
The purpose of this research has been to examine the role communication has played in developing multi-stakeholder partnerships to influence forest management practices. Within this general purpose, four objectives were pursued. First, the MF communication tools and methods were identified and select tools were examined in depth. Second, the communication plans and the policies and procedures of the MFs were explored to understand how they are used to direct and guide the individual MF activities. Third, different aspects of this research examined how communication is fostered within the individual MFs organizations and beyond. Fourth, the methods employed by MF associations to evaluate the effectiveness of their respective communication strategies were examined.

Model forest, gestion, Canada