The Research Council for Complementary Medicine (RCCM) is a charitable organisation (UK Registered Charity Number 1146724) founded in 1983 to develop and promote good quality research into alternative and complementary medicine (CAM) and enhance evidence-based medicine in this area. The RCCM works with the complementary therapy professions and CAM researchers to promote safe and effective integrative and personalised medicine, and to promote the development of high quality research and evidence in the UK into complementary and alternative medicine. As the burden of complex chronic disease increases more people are turning to alternative and complementary medicine (CAM) and need guidance in making their healthcare choices. CAM is used by at least a quarter of the population of the UK. The research evidence base is limited at present. The ever increasing cost of chronic disease will require government and society to make decisions on the cost-effectiveness of the available health care options. Such decisions are best informed by evidence and currently accepted standards of care. A greater evidence base for CAM should facilitate wider availability of access to safe and effective complementary therapies within the National Health Service and across the UK, in order to help in preventing disease and improvinghealth. The House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee in 2000 published a report on CAM which emphasised the need for improved regulation and increased research into CAM therapies. While regulation of the main CAM professions has made considerable progress, a paucity of funding has limited the development of CAM research. History The RCCM was co-founded in 1983 by a medical doctor Dr Richard Tonkins MD FRCP and a lay businessman, Mr Harold Wicks. During the 1980s, the focus of RCCM activity was on encouraging and publishing research projects, and on the exploration of appropriate research methodologies. A scientific journal was established, Complementary Medical Research (). A University Fellowship to explore CAM was established in partnership with the Medical Research Council and the University of Glasgow. A series of annual conferences on research methodology were organised. During the 1990s, the RCCM focus was on undergraduate medical education and the inclusion of a CAM module as a part of the curricula for medical education; Dr Catherine Zollman became Director of the RCCM's Medical Education Service and established a register of GPs with an interest in CAM. An RCCM research project was undertaken on the use of CAM by women with breast cancer,