Three categories of support are available for the conducting of Sea Grant activities: Projects; coherent area programs; and institutional programs. In general, funding for institutional programs and coherent area programs are made with expectation of renewal, as long as the funding recipient maintains a high level of quality and relevance in its activities. Project funding is made generally for a single item of research, education and training, or advisory service, but may be renewed under certain conditions; each renewal is negotiated individually.

Project support is for a clearly defined activity to be conducted over a definite period of time to achieve a specified goal. The project may be in research, education, training, or advisory services. Support for a project is made to an individual investigator or project director through his organization.

Intermediate between the institutional programs and individual projects are coherent area programs. These have two main purposes:

To bring into the National Sea Grant Program institutions of higher education that have a strong core of capability in some aspects of marine affairs, but which do not qualify or do not wish to qualify for institutional program support at this time. The purpose of support in such cases is to enable the institution to apply its existing competence to its regional problems and opportunities while developing the broader base of capability and the internal organization that will lead to institutional support. This program category requires a definite commitment on the part of the institution to develop an institutional program and to present a multiproject, multidisciplinary program involving the existing competence of an institution in a unified or coherent attack on well-defined local or regional problems. Such a coherent area program should include research, education and training, and advisory services, to the extent of the institution's capability.

To bring into the National Sea Grant Program (on a more or less continuing basis) qualified entities that have rare or unique capability in a specialized field of marine affairs. Such entities need not be institutions of higher education.

Institutional grants are made to institutions of higher education or to a combination of institutions that have an existing broad base of competence in marine affairs. To qualify, an institution must make a positive, long-range commitment to objectives of the National Sea Grant Program as evidence by committing the institution's own resources in the form of matching funds, creation of the organization necessary for management of the Sea Grant Program, quality education programs in marine areas, establishment of interdisciplinary research teams, and development of advisory service mechanisms for strong interaction with marine communities in its region. A Sea Grant institutional program is expected to provide intellectual leadership in assisting its region to solve problems and to realize opportunities of its marine environment. To the extent possible, an institutional program should involve all appropriate elements of the institution, whether colleges or departments, and devise cooperative or mutally supporting programs with other institutions of higher education, and with Federal and state agencies, local agencies, and industry. An institutional program should have substantial strength in the three basic Sea Grant activities: research, education and training, and advisory services. Sea Grant institutional programs that meet the qualifications for Sea Grant College or Sea Grant Regional Consortium status set forth at 15 CFR part 918 will be so designated by the Secretary.