MDCP: Frequently Asked Questions

First, contact the Brad Hess to find out if you have a viable project idea. Send inquiries to Brad.Hess@mail.doc.gov. Second, contact other International Trade Administration ITA) officials to find out how ITA can best work with you as design your project. Third, find the industry specialist from ITA's Manufacturing and Services (MAS) program area. Fourth, contact your local U.S. Export Assistance Center (USEAC). ITA maintains over 100 USEACs across the country. The USEACs constitute the domestic presence of ITA's U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (US&FCS). There's a chance you'll need to involve someone from ITA's Market Access & Compliance (MAC) as well.

• Viability of the proposed project.

• Whether the proposed project would duplicate services already provided by ITA.

• Suggestions on how the ITA team assigned to you (if you win) might be able to enhance your project.

• Suggestions on information sources.  

• Travel expenses for ITA officials who assist you during visits to target markets.

• Assistance in recruiting U.S. companies to participate in project activities.

• Contracted research reports.

• Travel expenses for foreign employees of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service to come to the United States to brief U.S. companies prior to traveling to the target market.

Note that these enhancements are just that, enhancements. They should not be included in your application budget. For the most part, these are activities that you cannot or should not fund with monies included in your project budget.  

• Value of salaries and benefits.

• Airline tickets donated by a U.S. carrier. (You cannot include in your budget airfare on non-U.S. carriers except in certain narrowly defined situations.)

• Value of fees for services.

This is not a complete list. The value you claim for in-kind services must not exceed fair market value.  

Until that time, any information about when the notice might be published will be posted on our home page, trade.gov/mdcp.

There is often a lot of "gray area" in defining what is an agricultural good. Soybeans are definitely agricultural; however, soy sauce would likely be classified as consumer goods under the purview of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Farm equipment to produce soybeans would be classed as non-agricultural as well.

If you have any questions, contact the relevant ITA/MAS industry specialist.  

See the application submission instructions beginning on page 19 of the Federal Funding Opportunity notice in the application kit.

Some, but not all, of the application can be submitted via grants.gov. See FAQ 37.
 

• Travel expenses for a trade mission.

• Salaries and benefits for time of your organization's employees.

• Fees you pay such as trade show booth rental, printing of project brochures, etc.

This is by no means a complete list. Contact the MDCP Manager with any questions.

Usually in October.

No. Each MDCP award winner enters into a cooperative agreement with ITA. This means that ITA will have substantial involvement with each cooperator as it works on MDCP project activity. Whenever appropriate, and when availability of funds permits, ITA's substantial involvement may include purchasing market research that it will keep and also share with a cooperator in the context of the MDCP project work.

Like all expenditures of administrative funds, ITA accounts for this amount separately. It is not to be included in the cooperator's award accounting at all. This means, for example, that expenditure of ITA award funds for market research may not be counted by the cooperator as match.

No. Cooperators should not bid on contracts to be let by ITA for expenditures that benefit the cooperator's MDCP project.

1. Information about ITA products and services.

2. Referrals to sources of information relevant to an applicant's interests.

3. Providing specifics about requested services, planned activities, etc. For example, applicant American Widget Association (AWA) may need to know about the cost and timing for Gold Key Service (GKS) packages for several of its members during a particular time of the coming year. It needs to know about this in order to come up with the detailed project budget it formulates for its MDCP application. By all means, this is the sort of information, even accompanied by related suggestions about using GKS or other CS services, that would be appropriate for anyone planning to use them.

It is normal for MDCP applicants, like anyone else in the U.S. business community served by DOC, to have questions about details and to expect answers from. DOC can provide those answers. DOC should not, however, be in a position of providing advice on the merits of an applicant's MDCP application ideas.

The examples listed above are illustrative. They are not inclusive or restrictive. It is okay for DOC officials to talk to MDCP applicants during the competition period. But, it's not okay for DOC officials to comment on the merits of an application or on application ideas.

1. Hard-copy submission of original plus two copies on or before the submission deadline announced in the FFO. (If it does not create a financial hardship, an additional two copies are requested.)

2. Electronic submission by the published deadline (required if this option is chosen), followed by five hardcopies within a week. The five hardcopies are optional. (The minimum requirement for submitting electronically is the electronic submission itself. The five hardcopies make processing easier, but are not required.)

The more applications we receive electronically, the fewer we have to scan, and the quicker we can make the applications available to ITA reviewers.