The present structure of IUFRO Division 3 has its roots in the 1970s and 1980s. One of the major critiques is that
the present structure has too many narrowly focused research and working groups that limit effective communication within the small forest operations research community.

IUFRO’s 2005 strategy aims at improving the effectiveness of its activities and to adjust the research agendas to the „challenging problems“ that will drive research within the next decade. Following the principle „structure follows strategy“ IUFRO Division 3 started a reorganization process. During the XXII IUFRO world congress, held in Brisbane in Aug-2005, representatives of Division 3 agreed to adjust the structure and to direct it towards the goals of IUFRO’s 2005 strategy (table 1).

Tab. 1: D3 strategy: linking goals to actions