In 2020, a national advisory team oversaw a virtual summit that consisted of multiple focus groups representing Universities, Industry, State and Federal Government, Private Landowners, and Environmental NGOs. The goal was to understand why Forestry and Forest Products Research and Development (R&D) capacity had eroded, what conditions were enabling successful R&D, and whether consensus could be reached across groups as to current R&D priorities for the nation. Priorities were remarkably similar across these disparate groups, which included R&D producers, consumers, or a combination of both. We concluded, however, that a national survey was needed to capture more voices and actually represent the many perspectives in this sector.