NHS CFHEP was set up at the end of April 2006 to evaluate certain elements of National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) delivery, with a view to informing subsequent deployments and more generally to providing high quality, objective, third-party insights into the lessons learned through such large-scale projects.

NHS CFHEP commissions research from the University of Birmingham under an extension of the English DH Patient Safety Research Portfolio (PSRP). The Programme Director, Professor Richard Lilford is responsible to the Director of Service Implementation at NHS CFH and Professor Sally Davies at DH. He is supported by a Programme Executive Group (PEG) and Programme Advisory Group, both chaired by Professor Mike Pringle at the University of Nottingham.