To assure the appropriate use of wood in large residential and non-residential buildings, it is necessary to carry out a comprehensive study of the resistance provided by these wood structures to lateral loads due to wind and earthquakes. Given that this is a topic of international interest, and there is a strong movement towards worldwide harmonisation of codes and standards, the proposed work requires the cooperation of a number of specialists in Canada and abroad. As a first step in creating a coordinated program of research, a consultation on the seismic resistance of timber structures has been carried out. A group of six seismic experts from Japan, New Zealand, USA, Germany, Italy and Greece were brought together in Vancouver, B.C. for two days in May, 1993. This consultation was joined by six Canadian experts on seismic analysis and timber engineering research. Following this meeting, a five-year research program on the lateral resistance of engineered wood structures to seismic and wind loads was launched. The objective of the program is to provide designers and code writers with the test data and analytical tools needed to design large timber buildings for wind and earthquake forces. The program includes wood-framed and sheathed walls and diaphragms, braced timber structures, structural wood frames and arches. In the first year of the program, in cooperation with Dr. M. Yasumura, a visiting scientist from the Building Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan, and Mr. D. Kishi, a structural engineering consultant from British Columbia, a total of 21 16' x 8' (4.8 m by 2.4 m) wood shear walls have been tested at Forintek under static and reversed cyclic loading. In these walls, three types of sheathing material (plywood, Oriented Strand Board, and Gypsum Wall Board (GWB) were used to investigate the effects of sheathing position (vertical or horizontal), blocking, nail spacing, and taping (in the case of GWB). The structural behaviour of elements such as shear walls is dependent on the behaviour of individual connections. Research alliances are currently being formed with the University of New Brunswick and the University of British Columbia for the development of test data and analytical models on the behaviour of connections.