CIGLR was formed from a partnership between NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), and the University of Michigan. This cooperative institute was established in 1989. CIGLR was formerly known as the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER) until 2017. CIGLR's research themes consist of advanced environmental change warning systems, healthy ecological communities, weather readiness, and coastal resilience.