Cifrel was founded in 1988 by scholars belonging to several Italian universities to conduct applied research on local and regional government. The Centre has administrative autonomy and is physically located on the premises of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan. Currently, the members of the Centre are the University of Brescia, the University of Ferrara, the University of Piemonte Orientale, The University of Turin and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan. Cifrel is governed by a management committee, made up of representatives of the Universities involved, and by a director. The current director is Massimo Bordignon, a professor of the Catholic University.

The centre conducts both academic and policy-oriented research on key issues of public finance with a specific focus on multi-tiered levels of government. Researchers associated with the Centre are faculty members of the four universities with a keen interest in public economics and fiscal federalism. The centre has a history of close collaboration with a variety of institutions, both private and public, and had produced several reports to inform and evaluate policymaking, specifically concerning regional and local public finance in Italy and many other countries. Beyond their activities as members of the Centre and as academic professors, Cifrel researchers are actively involved in the public debate on economic themes with their contribution disseminated through a variety of media (tv, newspapers, online).