The EU-FP7 funded project CAMbrella (see ECHAMP News August/September 2009) - a pan-European research network for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) – was officially launched at a kick-off meeting in Munich on 21-22 January. The complete Consortium, nearly 30 members from 12 different EU countries, met for the first time at the Nymphenburg Castle to initiate the project work. The meeting was also attended by a representative of the European Commission, Ms Anita Kucharska from DG Research.

During two busy days, the Management Board described the background and history of CAMbrella, outlined the working structure to all project partners and gave information on administrative and financial issues. The CAMbrella group then split into the separate working groups that are to address the project's different tasks. On the second day, they were joined by members of the CAMbrella Advisory Board, including ECHAMP President Nand de Herdt. The working atmosphere was friendly, and the result was a team of individuals highly motivated to work together in CAMbrella.

As a 'coordination action', CAMbrella by nature implies activities different from those typically involved in a research project. The initial project phase has therefore included the following proceedings:

Firstly, the working groups started to convert the individual objectives of their work plans into manageable tasks and to identify what is to be done, by whom, and when. Qualified staff have been employed to assist the responsible work package leaders. The activities of all group members have been co-ordinated by a series of conference calls.

It has been crucial to develop rules for both internal and external communication so as to take into account the individual parties' different interests. The corresponding efforts resulted in a Communication Policy signed by all beneficiaries. One major issue of external communication was the configuration and maintenance of the project’s website including the development of a unique corporate design. The site has become a frequently visited communication platform with more than 600 subscribers to the project’s newsletter.

Like the members of the Consortium, the members of the Advisory Board have also had to go through the process of finding their role within the coordination project. Based on their respective foci of interest, the different Board members assigned themselves to the working groups’ individual topics to facilitate cooperation between the numerous partners. The working groups have just started dialogue with the representatives of the Advisory Board to get their support in fulfilling their tasks.

The 5th International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research (ICCMR 2010), held in Tromsø on May 19-21, 2010, was an ideal opportunity to present CAMbrella to the international scientific community for the first time. About 400 researchers from all over the world met there to hear and discuss the latest projects and results in CAM research. Dr Jan Paehler, Scientific Officer of DG Research of the European Commission, and supervisor to the project, was invited to join the CAMbrella Scientific Steering Committee meeting held during the Congress. He said “I was quite impressed by the productiveness and the devotion in the CAMbrella group, and I am excited to see how CAMbrella will be moving forward” (CAMbrella newsletter spring 2010). A delegation of the Advisory Board also took part in this meeting. Furthermore, a special working group of the European chapter of International Society for Complementary Medicine Research (ISCMR) discussed strategies beyond CAMbrella to place CAM in future calls of EU framework programmes as well, with special emphasis on FP8.

In the meantime, an article giving an overview of the project’s concept and objectives has been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Now that the summer holiday season - which in an EU based project actually spans from June to September - is over, all groups have resumed their work according to the time plans. The next personal meetings will be held during the 3rd European Congress for Integrative Medicine (ECIM) in Berlin in early December.

The working groups' first results are not expected to be available before mid-2011. However, the progress of CAMbrella will be reported on a regular basis on the project’s website.

Professor Wolfgang Weidenhammer and Monika Schagerl, CAMbrella