1

Performance measures: exports.

This is the primary measure by which we report the program's effectiveness to the Office of Management and Budget and the Congress. Accordingly, it should be your primary measure as well. Quarterly reporting is very specific and includes the following details:

a. Name of exporter.

b. Exporter's city, state, and contact information.

c. Foreign market.

d. Value of export in dollars.

 

2

Performance measures: value of target market(s) and U.S. share.

This should actually be included in your application as well. It demonstrates that you have done thorough market research prior to submitting your application.

You will not be reporting any exports if the companies that export have not agreed to tell you or ITA about their success. Your application will stand out if you include a draft agreement in your application. Use the success agreement example as the basis for customizing an agreement that makes sense for your project.

4

Performance measures: milestones.

Choose your own milestones that will indicate progress to achieving project goals.

5

Use of ITA emblem.

This is a new requirement. Include in your application a mock-up of your website or a draft invitiation to an activity you plan. Include the ITA emblem on it so that we see how you plan to acknowledge our MDCP partnership with you. Get the image file from trade.gov, and refer to the example mock-up.

6

ITA does not assume that prior MDCP projects are self-sustaining. ITA assesses each application based on what each applicant chooses to include in its application. If an applicant wants the ITA to consider the self-sustainability of a prior project when evaluating a new project proposal, it should include relevant information in its application.

7

Build your proposal around the team concept.

8

Program income expended on project activity may be counted as cash match, if it represents value added by the cooperator for project activity. This can be illustrated in the example of a company that attends a technical seminar as part of a cooperator’s project. If the company negotiates amounts for its own arrangements with vendors, pays the total amount to the cooperator, then has the cooperator pay the amount to the vendors, the cooperator has added no value. The cooperator cannot claim the fees as cash match.

The same cooperator could claim fees paid by the company for technical seminar participation, if the cooperator adds value and the fees represent something of value that furthers project goals. For example, the cooperator could create its own technical-seminar participation package. This might include finding optimal hotel accommodations, securing group airfare, meeting with seminar organizers beforehand, and organizing a reception to take place after hours while the seminar is scheduled. Such a cooperator package would help determine project success. When companies pay the fees for such a package, they are doing more than getting themselves to a technical seminar, they are agreeing that the project itself has value. Because the cooperator’s package adds value and furthers project goals, the cooperator could charge fees, use the fees to pay project expenses, and claim them as cash match.

9

Commercial Service charges fees for some services.

The Commercial Service is required to charge fees to cover costs for many of the services it provides. The Commercial Service will provide, as part of the cooperative agreements, a limited amount of reasonable assistance to MDCP cooperators at no charge. Such assistance does not extend to an MDCP cooperator’s constituent member companies or to any other for-profit enterprises. For assistance that goes beyond the “limited amount of reasonable assistance” as defined below, applicants should make provision in their budgets. To determine the cost for services provided by the Commercial Service, applicants should contact the U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEACs) or overseas Commercial Service offices. These may be identified at trade.gov/cs.

The definitions below will guide the domestic or overseas Commercial Service offices in implementing this policy. a. Overseas Commercial Service Offices (1) Limited Amount: Cost-free assistance will not exceed two days’ Commercial Service effort per cooperator, per country, per year. Direct costs and specially-prepared market research are not included in the cost-free assistance. (2) No Charge: No fees are collected. The term applies only to indirect costs such as time expended by Commercial Service employees. Cooperators should always expect to pay direct costs, such as hiring an interpreter or transportation. (3) Reasonable Assistance: This includes appointment making, temporary use of Commercial Service office space, when available, making hotel arrangements, briefing on market conditions, helping organize seminars/conferences, and other similar services worked out between the project team leader and the Commercial Service office.

10

Current ITA priorities.

ITA is interested in receiving proposals that include, but are not limited to, projects that:

(1) Improve the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing and service industries by addressing impediments to innovation and reducing the cost of doing business in foreign countries;

(2) Increase competitiveness of U.S. industries in large markets like China, India, and Brazil by addressing non-tariff barriers, especially those related to standards and intellectual property rights;

(3) Help U.S. industry to capitalize on effective global supply chain management strategies;

(4) Advance market-based approaches to energy, clean development, and commercialization of nuclear and alternative energy technologies;

(5) Facilitate ease of travel to the United States and promote U.S. higher education and training opportunities to non-U.S. entities;

(6) Capitalize on trade opportunities resulting from trade agreements;

(7) Increase overall export awareness and awareness of ITA programs and services among U.S. companies, by making SMEs export-ready or by facilitating deal-making; and

(8) Support the Administration's broader foreign policy objectives through competitiveness-related initiatives.