It was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee in June 2005 and registered as a Charity in March 2007 by founders Gavin MacFadyen, Michael Gillard, Brian Basham and Simon Albury.

[1][2] Using grants from the Lorana Sullivan Foundation, the CIJ organises annual three-day summer conference and courses in data journalism and investigative techniques.

[8] The CIJ offers particular assistance to those working in difficult environments where free speech and freedom of the press are under threat and where truthful reporting can be a dangerous occupation.

In 2009, the CIJ was instrumental in helping to found the Bureau for Investigative Journalism,[13] an independent, foundation-supported producer of in-depth reporting in defence of the public interest.

The CIJ recently launched a programme on information security, organising workshops for journalists, researchers and lawyers on encryption, Tor, OTR and other protective technologies.