- MDCP Home
- New Awards for 2020
- What is MDCP?
- Impact
- Reputation for Efficacy
- Important Dates/Contact
- Current ITA Project Teams
- List of All Projects
Click headers to expand:
Results & Highlights
Apply for Project Funding
Cooperator Project Mgt
ITA-MDCP Project Team
Cooperator Financial Mgt
Other MDCP Resources
More Resources
Market Development Cooperator Program
MDCP Competition Period: How ITA Can Help
During the competition period, International Trade Administraion (ITA) officials may communicate with MDCP applicants. There is much that ITA officials can share even during the competition period. But there are some restrictions. See the table below for a summary. [a]
Competition period: Permitted communication |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activity | Competition Period 2020: Feb. 27 - April 27 |
Before & after competition period |
||||
| 1 | Speaking/corresponding with ITA officials generally. | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2 | Info exchange & referral: Requesting & receiving from ITA information or referrals to information sources. | Yes [b] | Yes [b] | |||
| 3 | Sending ITA a draft project idea: Potential applicant sending a summary of an intended MDCP project idea to an ITA official. | Yes [c] | Yes | |||
| 4 | Whether draft passes threshold for consideration: ITA official indicating whether a project idea is within MDCP program parameters and, therefore, eligible to be considered and scored by the merit review panel. | Yes [c] | Yes | |||
| 5 | Identification/team participation willingness of likely ITA & other fed players: ITA official identifying ITA or other federal offices, programs, or personnel whose participation or cooperation would be relevant should a proposed project be funded. Also, ITA official indicating that they are aware of the intended application and would be willing to participate on an ITA-led MDCP team if the proposed project is funded. | Yes | Yes | |||
| 6 | Technical application questions: ITA official responding to technical questions such as how to assemble a project budget, calculate travel expenses, or complete a form. | Yes | Yes | |||
| 7 | Brainstorming: ITA official generating project ideas for a potential applicant. | No [d] | Yes | |||
| 8 | Strengths & weaknesses: ITA official commenting to a potential applicant on the strengths and weaknesses of a project summary or draft application. | No [e] | Yes | |||
| 9 | ITA official writing a letter of support to be included in an MDCP application. | No [f] | No [f] | |||
[a] The ITA program areas involved in every MDCP project are Industry & Analysis (I&A) and Global Markets (GM). "ITA official" encompasses any and all ITA employees, including I&A industry specialists, GM desk officers, GM/Commercial Service/domestic office staff, GM/Commercial Service/international both locally-engaged staff and Commercial Officers.
[b] For example, in order to prepare its MDCP application, a potential applicant may need to know the cost and timing for Gold Key Service (GKS) packages for several of its members. By all means, this is the sort of information, even accompanied by general suggestions about using GKS or other CS services, that would be appropriate for anyone planning to use them. ITA officials may also respond with one or more options to less specific questions, such as "what are available market research sources?"
[c] Sending a project summary to an ITA official can help provide context for a request for information. It can also flag the ITA official that the organization intends to submit an MDCP application so that the official will review it when requested after the competition period ends.
[d] ITA may communicate with potential MDCP applicants but may not brainstorm project ideas with an applicant or serve as a sounding board for such ideas.
[e] After the deadline for submitting applications, ITA officials worldwide are invited to provide frank comments on MDCP applications. These comments are privileged from public disclosure. These comments help the ITA merit review panel in its scoring and ranking of applications.
[f] ITA officials should not to provide MDCP applicants with letters of support at any time.
The International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, manages this global trade site to provide access to ITA information on promoting trade and investment, strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. industry, and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein. This site contains PDF documents. A PDF reader is available from Adobe Systems Incorporated.