From the work.
Case studies, analysis, and notes from the work. We publish when something's worth saying — not on a cadence.
- Perspective July 2026
Why we authored the OZ 2.0 nominations for five Illinois port districts
Opportunity Zone 2.0 pushed the real work down to the states — and someone had to make the case for the river ports. Prosody authored the nominations for five Illinois regional port districts, 18 census tracts of freight-served ground. Here's why, and what it means for investors and districts.
- Policy & Budget Watch July 2026
The 2026–2027 Federal Funding Landscape for Ports
Three currents are reshaping how port and inland-river projects get funded: Opportunity Zones 2.0 as a capital-attraction lane, a FY2027 budget that bets big on maritime while starving the Army Corps, and a brand-new discretionary door (STAG) for landside port projects.
- Policy & Budget Watch June 2026
Federal Budget Watch: the $538M PIDP headline hides a catch — and a new grant door opens (STAG)
The FY2027 House THUD bill recommends $538.2M for PIDP — but most of it isn't new money. Meanwhile a new program, STAG, opens a second discretionary door for ports. What the budget really means for applicants.
- Case Study June 2026
De-risking a $34M federal port grant — when a public entity signs for a private project
An independent, rubric-anchored review — three weeks from the deadline — that found seven scoring gaps, including the one-point shortfall that decided automatic advancement. The county filed complete, on time, and knew exactly what it was signing its name to.
- Prosody Labs June 2026
Rebuilding a federal port grant — faster, sharper, smarter with AI
How we rebuilt a federal PIDP port application in three weeks, from debrief to submission — anchored by persistent project memory, primary-source research, and verified math, with AI fluency solving the quantitative safety case these awards turn on.
- Prosody Labs June 2026
From dense NOFO to a complete submission — in weeks, not months
A $17M terminal modernization grant for a Midwest river-logistics operator — won on speed and rigor with AI fluency parsing the rubric, reconciling the data, and running the math. Same discipline, different proving ground.
- Speaking & Press June 2026
Two Conferences Worth Your Time: Port of the Future and the CFO Roundtable
Prosody earned speaking invitations at two very different 2026 events — the Port of the Future Conference in Houston and the invitation-only K-State/CoBank CFO Roundtable — proof the firm sits at the crossroads of maritime infrastructure and cooperative finance.
- Speaking & Press June 2026
AI That Actually Ships: Howard Blazzard at the CFO Roundtable
At the K-State/CoBank CFO Roundtable, Prosody's Howard Blazzard gave co-op finance leaders a practical field guide: where AI is actually working today, the data and governance foundation it needs, the risks a CFO has to manage, and how to start — grounded in interviews with three cooperatives and Prosody's own results.
- Policy & Budget Watch May 2026
The MAP and the SHIPS Act: Same Destination, Different Roads
The Maritime Action Plan is the most serious blueprint for U.S. maritime revitalization in decades, and the SHIPS Act is its most natural legislative vehicle — delivering ~75% of the MAP's outcomes. Prosody's analysis of where the two align, where they conflict, and the truth neither confronts.
- Prosody Labs April 2026
35 jurisdictions, 64+ consecutive runs, not one missed day
How Prosody Labs built a self-updating intelligence dashboard for Opportunity Zone 2.0 — and what it shows about working fluently with AI. Live, public, operating today.
- Perspective April 2026
Strategic Inland Ports of the Future
America's inland waterways aren't a secondary network — they are the port system, and they're national-security infrastructure. The Rock Island corridor, where an active Army arsenal meets a tri-modal public-private port, proves it.
- Program Explainer November 2025
The SHIPS Act: A 'Cradle-to-Grave' Maritime Workforce Strategy
The SHIPS for America Act isn't a grant tweak — it's an attempt to rebuild the U.S. maritime workforce and industrial base from the keel up, anchored by a proposed Maritime Security Trust Fund. For anyone in ports, shipbuilding, or inland waterways, this is the bill to watch.
- Grant Program Analytics August 2024
3rd Annual RAISE Awards Analytics
The 2024 round hit record competitiveness (~7.2x oversubscribed), maritime projects rebounded sharply despite fewer applications, and planning grants surged at the expense of construction dollars — with growing signs USDOT is selecting for geographic balance over pure merit.
- Grant Program Analytics July 2024
RAISE Awards — Maritime Analytics
A maritime-segment deep dive on the 2024 RAISE round: 14 port-related awards (up from four the year before), but mostly planning rather than construction — plus a hard look at the spread of EPA's contested 'dry ports' concept and the litigation risk trailing behind it.
- Grant Program Analytics January 2024
What USDOT Has Been Up to in Its Most Popular Grant Programs
A combined look at the 2023 cycle: RAISE stayed brutally competitive and roads-first — maritime and airport projects won just four awards — while PIDP's Small Port/Project carve-out delivered real wins for smaller and inland facilities.
- Case Study August 2023
Advising a $450M port build through two federal programs to a $25.5M award
An agricultural cooperative building a $450M Washington port engaged Prosody to find the right federal capital. Two strong program fits, an advisor role through the PIDP pursuit, and a $25.5M reimbursement commitment.
- Perspective April 2023
The New Grant Criteria Aren't 'Check-the-Box'
Across USDOT's discretionary programs, community and equity criteria have moved from footnote to deciding factor. Meeting that bar takes a demonstrated track record or a credible, specific plan to engage — and it's where a strong application separates from the pack.
- Perspective March 2023
There's No There There: Avoiding Government Finance Program Risks
Two stories play on repeat in economic-development work: a program that looks perfect but is expired or unfunded, and a won award that later trips a requirement and triggers 'clawback.' Both are avoidable with diligence — and more survivable than they first appear.
- Program Explainer March 2023
The Reconnecting Communities Program — and Its Backdoor into Other Federal Funding
When USDOT unveiled the Reconnecting Communities Program, it built in a rarely-seen accelerant: a funded RCP application can earn 'Highly Recommended' status in later RAISE and MPDG rounds. For the right project, applying is a way to vault the line for other USDOT money.
- Perspective February 2023
Economic Development as a Path to Policy Change
Economic development is usually framed as a financing tool — but the relationships built through that work can open doors to regulatory and policy change that benefit a project long after the incentives close. That's 'Listen. Connect. Solve.' in practice.
- Perspective January 2023
It's Always Government Finance Season
The federal grant calendar runs 12–18 months from NOFO to cash — but rolling state and local programs can deliver in months. The smartest developers treat government finance as a permanent part of the capital stack, not a once-a-year scramble.
- Grant Program Analytics November 2022
2022 PIDP: Expanded BIL Funding Delivers a Historic Round
MARAD's biggest-ever port round — ~$703M across 41 projects in 22 states and a territory — favored construction-ready, coastal projects and energy-transition themes. Inland ports and public-private partnerships went curiously underserved.
- Case Study September 2022
A first-of-its-kind river port — about 80% of the build, won from a federal program
An agricultural cooperative needed low-cost capital to build its first Missouri River port. Prosody found the right federal program, built the benefit-cost case, and ran the application to an $10.25M award — roughly 80% of project cost.
- Grant Program Analytics August 2022
The First Round of Expanded BIL Funding Lands with a Boom
USDOT's first BIL-supercharged RAISE round put more than $2.2B into a record 166 projects — pushing success rates to nearly 18% and rewarding equity and workforce commitments. Two standout public-private partnerships show how flexible the program can be.
- Program Explainer May 2022
Newly-Unveiled USDOT Programs Fund Rural Development
Rather than only upsizing existing programs, the IIJA created new ones — and rural America was a big beneficiary. Two USDOT programs stood out: the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program and a new Rural program under MPDG that explicitly names agriculture as an eligible use.
- Case Study November 2021
A Gulf port grant at twice the program average — 80% of the build, federally funded
A commodities trader building a $20M Texas Gulf port engaged Prosody to fund it. One program, a benefit-cost case at 12x, and an $17M award — about 80% of cost and roughly twice the program's average commitment.
- Case Study July 2018
After a total fire loss — rebuilding a manufacturer with incentives, permits, and a financing plan
A manufacturer lost its only plant to fire. Prosody secured state and local incentives to rebuild, ran the permitting, built the cash-flow model, and helped raise mezzanine financing to get the company back on its feet.
- Case Study September 2017
Protecting $17.5M in incentives across a multi-state acquisition
An acquirer's targets carried incentive packages across a dozen states and complex ownership. Prosody confirmed compliance, secured transferability, and preserved ~$17.5M in benefits — deal closed early and under budget.
- Case Study June 2015
Funding a barge terminal's road — and fixing a dangerous intersection — through state DOT programs
A $22M greenfield barge facility needed a two-mile levee-top road into a state highway — at an intersection plagued by accidents. Prosody used two Illinois DOT programs to fund roughly two-thirds of the cost.
- Case Study May 2014
100 sites, 3 states, one incentive playbook — funding a solar developer's pipeline
A solar developer needed low-cost capital across a 100-site, three-state pipeline. Prosody qualified ~50 sites to local rules, negotiated incentives site by site, and helped get ~25 built.
- Case Study March 2011
Screening 15 sites for capital — $24M+ in incentives without adding debt
A commodities trader with holdco-level financing needed non-debt capital across a multi-state development pipeline. Prosody screened ~15 sites, found six fits, and secured more than $24M in benefits.
- Case Study August 2010
Stacking three Illinois incentives — and expanding a zone — to fund a $27M grain elevator
A greenfield elevator sat just outside an Illinois Enterprise Zone. Prosody expanded the zone, stacked three incentives, won approvals across nine taxing authorities, and added savings after close — on a $27M+ transaction.
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