Development of a Time Release Study Methodology for Agricultural Goods | USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 20 0022

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 20 0022

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), offered a discretionary grant opportunity to develop a standardized way to measure how long agricultural products take to clear international borders and where delays occur. The core problem FAS is trying to solve is that agricultural shipments often face more complex and time-sensitive clearance processes than many other goods because multiple agencies can be involved (customs, plant health, food safety, veterinary authorities, port operators, and other regulators). Those delays can be especially costly for perishable products, where extra hours or days can translate directly into spoilage, rejected loads, higher cold-chain costs, and lost sales.

The project centers on creating an agriculture-specific "time release study" methodology that FAS can use consistently across countries and programs. The intent is twofold: first, to pinpoint the specific steps in the border clearance chain that create the biggest bottlenecks so FAS can work with trading partners to streamline procedures and reduce unnecessary hold times; and second, to provide a reliable measurement tool for evaluating whether trade facilitation projects actually improve clearance speed and predictability. In practice, FAS is looking for common metrics and a repeatable approach that produces comparable results across different locations and interventions, rather than one-off studies that cannot be aggregated.

The methodology is expected to build on the World Customs Organization (WCO) Time Release Study (TRS), a widely recognized framework for measuring the actual time required for the release and clearance of goods. While the WCO TRS is an established international tool, FAS notes that it is not tailored to agriculture and does not sufficiently capture the extra steps and specialized requirements that agricultural goods often face. This grant therefore focuses on adapting and enhancing the WCO approach so it reflects real agricultural clearance pathways, including the additional documentation, inspections, and compliance checks that can occur before arrival, at the border, or even after entry (for example, conditional release, testing, quarantine-related actions, or other behind-the-border procedures).

Key technical objectives include defining where the measurement should start and end in a way that makes sense for agricultural supply chains (for example, clarifying whether the clock begins at arrival, document submission, manifest filing, unloading, or some other standardized event, and where it stops such as final release, out-gate, or authorization to distribute). The methodology must clearly separate steps that are under customs authority from those driven by other regulatory agencies, since agricultural clearance frequently depends on multiple decision-makers and parallel processes. It must also capture behind-the-border procedures and agricultural-specific requirements such as sanitary and phytosanitary documentation, permits, certificates, sampling, laboratory testing, cold-treatment verification, or commodity-specific inspection protocols.

Another important requirement is that the approach work across different shipping modalities and logistics contexts. The opportunity calls for a methodology that can accommodate air shipments, containerized cargo, bulk commodities, and movements that rely on cold storage or temperature-controlled handling. It also needs to measure the time spent at each individual step, not just the total end-to-end duration, so analysts can see exactly where time is being added (for example, waiting for an inspector, queueing for scanning, delays in document processing, time for sampling and lab results, or holds due to discrepancies). Finally, the design must be flexible enough to adapt to varying national clearance regimes, since procedures, agency roles, and data availability differ widely from country to country.

In addition to designing the methodology, the selected awardee would be expected to produce practical guidance for FAS staff on how to use it. That includes a clear guidance document that explains the measurement framework, definitions, data collection steps, suggested data sources, and how to interpret and present results in a consistent way. The project also includes a training component aimed at ensuring FAS staff can apply the methodology correctly and uniformly across different projects and partner countries.

The opportunity also requires validation of the proposed methodology using a real-world dataset. USDA planned to work with the awardee to set the parameters for this test, including selecting the country context and determining what dataset would be used. This validation step is meant to demonstrate that the methodology is not just theoretical, but workable in realistic conditions with imperfect data, multiple stakeholders, and real clearance sequences, and that it can produce actionable findings.

Administratively, the opportunity was listed as "Development of a Time Release Study Methodology for Agricultural Goods" under funding opportunity number USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 20 0022, within CFDA 10.960 (Technical Agricultural Assistance). Eligible applicants were public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. The posting indicated an anticipated single award with a ceiling of $160,000. The opportunity was created June 22, 2020, with an original closing date of August 7, 2020.

• The Department of Agriculture, Technical Agricultural Assistance 10.960 in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Development of a Time Release Study Methodology for Agricultural Goods" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.960.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 22, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 07, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $160,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 20 0022

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