The Kenya Forestry Research Institute was established in 1986 under the science and Technology Act (Chapter 250) to carry out research in forestry and allied natural resources. The institute has a role to play in influencing polices on forest resource management. 

Since 1998, the Institute has continued to restructure its research programme by:

• Consolidating 17 discipline-oriented divisions into six programmes as contained in Kenya Forests Master Plan;
  
• Adopting multidisciplinary research approach;
  
• Focusing on problem oriented research;
  
• Decentralizing research activities to facilitate improved interaction and linkages with the local users;
  
• Improving facilities in six centres in representative ecological zones of the country;
  
• Adopting focused capacity building;
  
• Developing beneficial partnerships;
  
• Decentralizing dissemination of research findings and seed distribution.