About the UK Cochrane Centre

Background

The UK Cochrane Centre was established at the end of 1992, by the National Health Service Research and Development Programme, 'to facilitate and co-ordinate the preparation and maintenance of systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials of health care'. During its initial period of funding (1992-1995), the Centre's objectives included a number of activities intended to promote international collaboration in this work. Centre staff worked with others to help establish The Cochrane Collaboration, which was launched at the first Cochrane Colloquium in Oxford in October 1993. The UK Cochrane Centre is now one of twelve Cochrane Centres around the world which provide the infrastructure for co-ordinating The Cochrane Collaboration. The Centre supports contributors to The Cochrane Collaboration in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Turkey and countries in the Middle East..

Objectives

Following an external review of the Centre's work in 2003, the NHS Research and Development Programme decided that the Centre should receive continued funding until at least March 2010. The agreed programme of work focuses on the training and support of Cochrane entities and contributors based in the UK and other countries for which the Centre is responsible. The UK Cochrane Centre will also continue to carry out methodological research and other activities intended to help improve the quality of Cochrane reviews.

Recent activities

The UK Cochrane Centre hosted the XIV Cochrane Colloquium in Dublin, Ireland, October 2006.