The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has released its new five-year strategic plan, “Expanding Horizons of Health Care: Strategic Plan 2005-2009.” The plan presents a series of goals and objectives to guide NCCAM in prioritizing its investments in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research, training and outreach. The plan was developed by reviewing NCCAM accomplishments, summarizing the lessons learned and noting the challenges the center faces. The document is based on extensive public input, the advice of NCCAM staff and the recommendations of a distinguished group of outside experts. During the year-long process of development, hundreds of people testified at regional meetings, provided comments in letters and e-mails, and responded to the draft plan on the NCCAM website. The plan addresses four key areas—investing in research, training CAM investigators, expanding outreach and advancing the organization—and sets ambitious goals for the coming years. Goals for research investment are laid out for building research resources; mind-body medicine; biologically-based practices; manipulative and body-based practices; energy medicine; whole medical systems; international health research; health services research; and ethical, legal, and social implications of CAM research and integrated medicine. NCCAM pointed out that several goals and objectives presented in the strategic plan were a direct reflection of the lessons learned over the last five years, such as the need for better quality control of the herbal/botanical products studied and the importance of conducting re­search to identify optimal doses and appropriate subject populations before investing in large clinical trials. Without these preliminary studies, NCCAM said, there is a risk that clinical trials could prematurely conclude that a CAM approach is ineffective. According to the report NCCAM issued, biologically based practices will continue to dominate most of NCCAM’s research investment, along with mind-body medicine.