The Italian National Statistical Institute (ISTAT) is a state research body and is the principal producer and source of official statistics for use by the public and by policy-makers.

Istat's mission is to serve the people by producing and communicating high quality statistical information, gathered and processed in total autonomy on the basis of rigorous ethical and professional principles and advanced scientific standards, in order to develop a thorough knowledge of Italy's ecological, economic and social realities at different territorial levels and to facilitate decisional processes at all levels of society (citizens, administrators, etc.).

The Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces is a free and voluntary association. This Conference is made up of the Presidents of all Italy's Regions and Autonomous Provinces, and it defines and promotes shared policies on issues that concern them. It also draws up documents and proposals to submit to the Government, to Parliament, to other central state organisms and to European institutions.

The secretarial activities of the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces are carried out by the CINSEDO (Interregional Study and Documentation Centre), based in Rome. While the Conference's technical organism for geographical, statistical and IT systems is the CISIS.

The Interregional Centre for Informational, Geographical and Statistical Systems (CISIS) is an association between members of the Conference of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces of Italy, which functions as a technical organ of the Conference of Presidents of Self-governing Regional Assemblies and Provinces. It was created to ensure efficient coordination in matters connected with statistical information at a regional level, and also to facilitate better connections between regions, state and local institutions.

In terms of its functions and institutional activities, the CISIS provides support and technical preliminary study for the Conference of Presidents, a point of contact with other institutional realities and a collaborative tool to be used by the regions to implement and develop geographical and statistical IT systems and to carry out information and training initiatives.