CIPES is a research organisation that was created in 1998 by the Foundation of the Portuguese Universities. CIPES is funded by the Portuguese Ministries of Education and of Science and Technology, by the Council of Rectors and by the member universities.

Its Scientific Council whose membership includes the members of the Executive Board and the directors of all research projects determines the research agenda of CIPES. The Executive Board has a president appointed by the Council of Rectors and two vice-presidents nominated by the President and appointed by CRUP.

CIPES also collaborates in several post-graduate programmes of the member universities, and this includes Master degree programmes as well as doctoral programmes.

The statute of CIPES allows for its co-operation with governments, higher education institutions and other similar research institutes, national or international. CIPES is founder of HEDDA – the Higher Education Development Association, whose members are other European centres, such as: CHEPS (The Netherlands), CSET (United Kingdom), IREDU (France), NIFU (Norway), PFI (Norway) and the Coordinating Structure of Finnish Higher Education Research (Finland).

CIPES research staff tries to diversify the academic background of its members in order to increase its interdisciplinary research objectives.

Since its founding CIPES has been organising High level seminars on International Higher Education Policy Issues.