Operating Plan Due September 11.
It's time for the federal team working with you to plan how it can best help you to achieve your goals during the coming months. As you know, each team has to plan its activities on a federal fiscal year basis (October through September). To that end, please contact your team now and develop your fiscal year operating plan. You will need to submit your plan to your team several days before September 11 in order for your team to finalize the plan and submit it to the MDCP Manager by September 11. Link to last year's MaDCaP issue that explains operating plans.

Operating Plan Leverages Partnership.
Each year cooperators like the International District Energy Association (IDEA), formulate operating plans with with their federal teams. Because IDEA included its annual conference and trade show in its operating plan, it was able to secure the participation of two commercial specialists or foreign service nationals (FSNs), one from India and one from China, Mingming Ma, pictured at right. Their participation cost IDEA nothing. The travel and lodging costs of both FSNs was paid by ITA with funds set aside for funding activities listed in operating plans. IDEA's expectations of the benefits of MDCP partnership exceeded its expections when U.S. Commerce Secretary Locke agreed to speak at its conference and present an export award to IDEA-member EVAPCO. Secretary Locke's speech was just one of many factors that contributed to a successful event. In fact, it was IDEA's best attended annual conference to date with 700 people from 15 countries.

Overdue Reports for Quarter Ended June 30.
Your quarterly performance report is due a month after the end of the quarter. If you want to avoid getting delinquent notices, post your report online 15 days after the end of the quarter. That leaves your federal team 10 days to vet the report, then a couple of days for the MDCP Manager to log it into Grants Online and recommend acceptance. Currently, all but three cooperators are delinquent. Use Quarterly Performance Reports on the MDCP website as your portal. This is important to remember. MDCP performance reports cannot be submitted directly through GrantsOnline. Instead, use the portal noted above.

Mingming Ma, right, tells exhibitor Mark Crisafulli about district energy opportunities in China. Ms. Ma is employed by ITA as a Beijing-based Commercial Specialist, a position sometimes referred to as "Foreign Service national."

Previous editions of MaDCaP