CFF Screening Tool
The Screening Tool is a questionnaire-based instrument that supports a qualitative analysis of the enabling and limiting conditions for community and family forests to achieve FSC certification. By scoring responses, it helps FSC and its partners make well-informed decisions on where and with whom to invest limited human and financial resources to generate the greatest potential impact.
Community, Family and Forests Work Area
The CFF Screening Tool is a table-based questionnaire designed to help FSC and its partners identify and assess potential users in the pre-certification phase. By gathering and scoring information through structured interviews with key stakeholders, such as community representatives or forest producer groups, the tool provides a grounded understanding of actual conditions and needs.
The tool is used to support informed decision-making on where and with whom to invest limited resources to generate the greatest impact. The tool is typically applied during the planning stage through to the implementation of any solution, tool, or enabler within the CFF Toolbox. For example, in the Economic Viability Tool (EVT), screening is conducted as part of “outreach to users,” which corresponds to Step 1 of the process.
The goal of the Screening Tool
Its main goal is to guide strategic investments that promote responsible small-scale and community forest management, increase social and economic benefits, and support progress toward FSC certification.
The information about a specific target group (community or group of forest producers) is gathered through an interview with someone who has in-depth knowledge of that group.
If you’d like more information about the CFF Screening Tool or how to use it, please feel free to reach out.
This guidance explains the purpose, structure, and use of the Community and Family Forests (CFF) Screening Tool. Developed by the CFF Team in collaboration with the Latin America Regional Team and Network Partners, the tool was tested with eight communities across Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The document outlines how to apply the tool, interpret its results, and understand the rationale behind its design. As a living tool, it is intended to evolve over time based on user experience and feedback.