The "Development Plan for the Sea – Strategy for an Integrated German Maritime Policy" was published back in 2011 and has so far set the framework for all sea-related policies in Germany. An integrated maritime policy encompasses all facets of sea-based activities across different sectors. Basically, they can be summarised in the three sustainability pillars 'ecology, economy, and social'. A comprehensive evaluation of Germany's integrated maritime policy has not yet taken place due to the lack of a compilation of appropriate indicators for assessment. The project 'Indicators of an Integrated German Maritime Policy' aims to close this gap.

The aim of the project is to use the development of suitable indicators to make the impacts of Germany's integrated maritime policy presentable and assessable at the economic, ecological, and social levels. The focus is on the competitiveness of the German economy (including tourism and food production), the environmental status of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea as well as the quality of life of the population in the German coastal regions.

Together with the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) in Bremen, Ecologic Institute is developing suitable indicators on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. Ecologic Institute is leading the project and is responsible for two of the three work packages in the project.