33 U.S.C. 1124a sets up a program of International Cooperation Assistance in marine reseach, marine education and training, and marine advisory services designed to enhance the research and technical capability of developing foreign nations with respect to ocean and coastal resources and to promote the international exchange of information and data with respect to the assessment, development, utilization, and conservation of such resources. Any Sea Grant College or Sea Grant Regional Consortium or any institution of higher education, laboratory, or institute (if such institution, laboratory or institute is located within any state) may apply for and receive International Cooperation Assistance funding.

International Cooperation Assistance funding proposals will be expected to address: (1) The nature and focus of the proposed project, (2) the utilization of institutional and other appropriate resources in the implementation of the project, (3) a clear indication of the foreign participant's (individual or institution) commitment to the project, (4) identification of accomplishments expected from a single granting interval, (5) implicit or explicit out-year commitment of resources, and (6) the impact of the proposed project on the institution receiving funding.

The projects supported by International Cooperation Assistance funding are intended to be genuinely cooperative. Innovation and uniqueness will be significant factors in the determination of proposals to be funded. In the case of a proposed international project that is submitted from an institution where a Sea Grant program is in existence, the extent to which the proposed project takes advantage of the Sea Grant institutional capability existing at that institution and thereby strengthening it, as opposed to being a mere appendage to the ongoing Sea Grant program, will also be an important evaluation factor. The U.S. Department of State will be given the opportunity to review all International Cooperation Assistance projects and none will be funded without this consultation. Because the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also funds international projects of the kind that can be funded under the Sea Grant International Cooperation Assistance program, and, to effect coordination in this area between Sea Grant and UNESCO, the Division of Marine Sciences (UNESCO) will be informed of all International Cooperation Assistance projects funded.