At present, the project's primary focus is to gather information regarding the nature of inter-state relations during times of conflict in several localized areas, such as the Middle East, Southern, Western, and Central Africa, and the Balkans.
CIPA aims to quantify inter-state relations, both in number and intensity, through computer-aided programming and obtaining a series of numeric codes from filtered news.
CIPA operates with funding from multiple sources with different research needs, but the overarching goal of the project is to advance efforts in the understanding and prediction of civil strife, genocide, and mass killings.
In support of KEDS, Schrodt and Gerner's staff produced several programs for filtering text and aggregating the resulting event data for its use in statistical analysis.
Most of this research focused on the development of early warning techniques for political change, primarily using the Levant as a case study.