Benchmarking U.S. and International Port Use of Information Sharing Systems to Improve Port Efficiency

The U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation (USCMI) is building a collaborative team to benchmark the information sharing systems that U.S. and international ports use to coordinate vessel, terminal, port and intermodal operations.

The opportunity

USCMI is building collaborative teams across a forthcoming series of projects on the application of information sharing capabilities to maritime uses, including vessel, terminal, port and intermodal operations. This project benchmarks port information sharing systems. The work includes background research, identification of representative U.S. and international systems, collection and comparison of data on systems and practices in use, assessment of operational outcomes, identification of enabling conditions and implementation barriers, and preparation of a final report with recommendations.

Participant roles include helping design and execute the analyses, providing review of the construct, analyses and report, or both. Funding is available for participants. USCMI funds are prioritized for domestic entities as recipients. The outcomes of this project are planned for public release. The USCMI will respect all project team members’ intellectual property rights in compliance with applicable federal law and the project agreements governing the scope of work.

Participant roles

Role 01

Help set up and execute the analysis

Help design, plan and execute the research identifying and evaluating port and vessel information systems, and facilitate the review by stakeholders. Sought from stakeholders including port authorities, marine exchanges, vessel owner-operators, port operators, regulatory agencies and shipping agents.

Funded The project budget includes up to $125K for analytic support.

Role 02

Participate in the review

Join the advisory group reviewing the analysis of information systems and providing feedback. Participants are sought for each key stakeholder perspective to provide insight on the draft analyses and conclusions.

Unfunded advisory group participation

Download the documents

How to apply

Submit a short response of no more than five pages that notes the roles of interest, identifies the specific elements of the Scope of Work your organization is applying to support, documents demonstrated capabilities and estimates costs or rates for participation. The Secretariat will select and engage multiple organizations as a collaborative team.

Note the role or roles of interest.
Identify the Scope of Work elements you would support.
Document your demonstrated capabilities.
Provide estimated costs for proposed participation.
Submit by 11:59 PM ET Sept. 3, 2026.

Email responses to info@uscmi.org or click the below link.

Submit your response

USCMI funds are prioritized for domestic entities as recipients. Questions may be directed to info@uscmi.org. Additional project opportunities will be announced separately, and updates to this notice may be issued.

About USCMI

The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 directs the Secretary of Transportation, through a competitive cooperative agreement, to establish the U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation to support the study, research, development, assessment and deployment of emerging marine technologies and practices related to the maritime transportation system (MTS). USCMI is authorized under the Maritime Administration (MARAD) Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) program and serves as a national resource for agencies that oversee and develop the MTS.