The Fondazione was founded in 1952 and named after professor Ugo Bordoni, lecturer at the engineering faculty of the university of Rome in the 30's. Its objective was to become a research and technology tool in communications for the Superior Institute of Communications and for the Ministry of Postal Service. The Superior Institute provided premises and laboratories whereas the funding was provided by a percentage of profits from telecommunication companies.Algeri Marino, professor in Electric Communications, was the first elected president and was followed by the best professors and researchers throughout the country.
Since its creation, the Fondazione has been training experts in all areas of new information technologies: microelectronics, telecommunications, computer science and automated controls. In 1994 all of the telephone companies merged into Telecom Italia preparing for the privatisation of 1997.
In 1998 due to the privatisation, the model of the foundation that had worked for almost 50 years was facing a crisis and came to an end with the Ministerial Decree of the 5th December 2000 that liquidated the foundation.In 2001 a new no-profit Fondazione Ugo Bordoni was established and recognised by the Law of January 16th, 2003, No. 3, as an Institution of high culture under the supervision of the Ministry for the Economic Development.
The resources of the Fondazione are constituted by fundings from the Ministry, contributions for research and funds from private companies that belong to the Founders Committe.
 
Since 2009 the Fondazione Bordoni has a new charter that significantly changes its characteristics.As a matter of fact, the charter in use until 2008 foresaw a Board of Directors composed by representatives of the Ministry, the major operators and manufacturers in the telecommunication sector that were also subscribers of the funding  for the activities of the Fondazione itself.With the new charter, the control and management of the Fondazione is assigned to the Public Administration; the Board of Directors is nominated by the Ministry for Economic Development on the basis of designations by the President of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry itself and with the involvement of the President of AGCOM.Representatives of major operators and manufacturers are still involved with the Fondazione as members of the Founders Committee, an organism of the Fondazione itself that plays a significant role for consultancy on strategic addressing. Moreover there is a Scientific Committe composed by higly professional researchers from the academic and research world.With the new charter the Fondazione is therefore subject to public control and management in order to guarantee its characteristic of independence necessary to make available its scientific and technical potential to the Public Administration.

The Fondazione performs its activities following two major veins:

• non finalized research activities in the sector of Information Technology
• finalized activities for specific requests.

 
More generally, as stated in the Charter, The Fondazione is an Institution of High Culture that is meant to perform and support research and scientific studies, applications in telecommunications, information technology, electronics and multimedia services in general, in order to promote scientific progress and technological innovation.In particular the Fondazione carries out concultancy activities for the Government, the Parliament, the Authorities, Public Institutions and regional and local Administrations; it provides scientific and cultural instruments for the welfare and protection of citizen, users and the development of the market; it promotes appropriate initiatives to join and co-ordinate scientific activities of Universities and Research Centers; it combines to bring about formation activites in sector of competence; it safeguards and promotes language and the cultural and technological Italian heritage.