[1][2] The institute was co-founded by John Curtis Perry, professor at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and director of the Maritime Studies program.

[4] Other co-founders include Rockford Weitz, Scott Borgerson,[5][6][7] Enrique Hidalgo and Andrew C.

[1] In 2015 Rocky Weitz succeeded Perry as the president of the institute.

Fellows' works have been published both in the IGMS site as well as in other publications.

Fellows also attend conferences and do on-site research through various field trips.