CILER's vision is to enhance the quality of the Great Lakes and its related ecosystem services, through a partnership of universities, NOAA scientists, and other stakeholders.

CILER's mission includes: 1) translating research into productive outcomes through outreach and education; 2) facilitating productive interactions between scientists in the Great Lakes basin, with a primary focus on NOAA partnerships; 3) identifying and characterizing emerging areas of concern for the Great Lakes ecosystem, with applications to all coastal ecosystems; 4) providing a forum for better linking ecosystem responses, sustainable ecosystem services, and decision-making, and; 5) advancing our understanding of, and ability to predict, complex ecosystem processes, responses, and dynamics.