Over the years, many organisations and individuals have performed extensive and valuable research into various types of anomalous phenomena. Now, a new group, the Centre for Fundamental and Anomalies Research (C-FAR) has been formed to collate existing data and develop guidelines for the prioritisation of future research. Research will be prioritised by the fundamental philosophical questions that it can address, and will concentrate on multi-disciplinary border areas where anomalous data has the greatest potential to influence the way that scientific models develop.

Philosophical questions about the fundamental nature of mankind and the world have been asked for so long that it is often assumed these questions are intrinsically unanswerable. However, in recent years, great advances have been made in the tools that science, philosophy and logic can bring to bear on these issues. Unfortunately, as the fields have progressed, they have also separated, so that the implications of the concepts and observations from each on the other are not always followed through.

Multi-disciplinary research has great potential to bring the power of the scientific method to bear on the analysis of these fundamental questions. In such research, the study of anomalies that significantly challenge orthodox expectations could be a particularly efficient route to new insights.

For a research strategy based on investigation of anomalies to be efficient, it has to have a systematic basis. Such a basis could be provided by an agreed agenda of prioritised research activities that progressively addresses the key uncertainties highlighted by anomalies. To establish such a research agenda, certain groundwork has to be put in place. We cannot identify and prioritise the key investigations without a clear understanding of what the questions are that we are trying to answer (a Catalogue of Open Issues), and a good understanding of the range and quality of anomalous data that has been accumulated (a Catalogue of Anomalies). For such Catalogues to be effective in guiding research definition, they have to be well structured, model independent, under continuous development/revision, and readily accessible (e.g. via the internet).

C-FAR was formed in order to promote the establishment of such baseline databases and structured research activities. C-FAR's directors, David and Julie Rousseau, are both science professionals and have a long-standing involvement in the SPR. David qualified as an electronic engineer, has a background in high-tech multi-disciplinary project management and systems engineering, is currently an IT manager in the semiconductor equipment industry, and serves on the Research Activities Committee of the SPR. Julie studied mathematics, physics and chemistry, has experience in mathematical modelling and simulation across a wide range of sectors, and is currently a technical consultant and systems architect in the software industry. Their philosophical interest in anomalies has been strengthened by their personal experience of anomalous phenomena such as precognitive dreams and dowsing.

C-FAR is a non-profit organisation promoting research funded through public sponsorship and income derived through the application of research findings. It is a particular vision of C-FAR that research into anomalous phenomena could lead to the development of technologies, therapies and lifestyle changes that improve human welfare, quite separately from the deepening of our understanding of our fundamental nature and that of the real world.

To find out more about C-FAR's research vision and the projects currently underway, visit their website at http://www.c-far.org.