MDCP FAQs
Market Development Cooperator Program Frequently Asked Questions
Additional information useful to MDCP applicants is provided on this page of frequently asked questions (FAQs). These FAQs are organized into several key categories. Click on an individual category to expand to the list of individual FAQs. If you do not see an FAQ that matches your question, email us at mdcp@trade.gov.
What are the odds of receiving an MDCP financial award?
In recent years, the average odds of receiving an MDCP award are about one in three.
How long do MDCP-funded projects last?
Each project lasts a minimum of three years and can be extended to no more than five years. All project periods begin on October 1 of the calendar year of the MDCP competition.
Will we be able to extend our MDCP project if we are selected?
After you receive an MDCP award, if you need more time for your project, you can extend it. No project can last more than five years in total. Learn more about extending an MDCP project.
How and how often do cooperators report their performance progress?
Each quarter cooperators submit performance progress reports. Find out more about performance reports.
How do I know if I am eligible?
You can use the preliminary eligibility assessment tool to get a preliminary determination of your eligibility.
Can we submit our application before we know if our organization is eligible?
Yes, however, applicant eligibility should be established by ten days after applications are due. Submit eligibility documentation as soon as possible.
Are for-profit organizations eligible to apply for an award?
Individual for-profit companies are generally NOT eligible.
When are new award recipients announced?
Typically, we announce new award recipients in late September.
How are new award recipients notified?
A grants officer from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s NOAA will email the authorized representative on your form SF-424. The email includes login information to access eRA, a web-based financial assistance management system where your authorized representative can log in and accept the award.
When can new winners announce receipt of their award?
The MDCP team will coordinate with new winners so that no public announcement of awards is made prior to ITA’s announcement.
How are unsuccessful applicants notified?
The MDCP team will email the contact listed on your form SF-424. This usually happens several days before ITA announces the new awards.
Can unsuccessful applicants find out why they were not selected?
Yes. The MDCP team offers a virtual debrief meeting to all unsuccessful applicants. Debriefings are usually scheduled for late October or early November.
Are there page limits?
Yes. Page limits by part/section:
- Project Narrative 10
- Budget Narrative 10
- Financial Statements 20
- Forms 10
What forms listed on grants.gov are required?
All applicants must submit the SF-424, SF-424-A, SF-424-B, and CD-511.
Forms SF-LLL and CD-512 are only required in rare situations where you would use MDCP funds to lobby the federal government or make sub-awards. If in doubt, contact mdcp@trade.gov.
Can we complete all application preparation steps online at grants.gov?
No. The majority of a complete MDCP application is made up of documents other than the blank forms available at grants.gov. Learn more about the process. There are several things that should be completed before you go to grants.gov. Draft your project narrative, assemble financial statements and other attachments, and prepare your budget first. Only then will you be ready to complete the blank forms and upload the entire package at grants.gov.
How do we know that our application has been received?
Grants.gov will send you a confirmation email after you submit your application. It can take up to two business days. If you wish to have confirmation before the submission deadline, submit two days early.
Will ITA accept late applications?
No. Applications submitted after the deadline will be returned to the submitter without further consideration.
What priorities should our project address?
The full list of ITA Priorities may be found in the Evaluation Criteria section of the MDCP Applicant tools.
Can we submit more than one application in the same MDCP competition?
Yes, you can submit more than one application, but ensure that each application is complete. You cannot say, “see application 2 for the financial statements.” You should also indicate in each application whether you can undertake two MDCP projects concurrently.
What does ITA do with our application after submission?
We make winning applications available to federal project teams for coordinating project work. We keep winning and unsuccessful applications on file for at least seven (7) years. We do not accept applications submitted after the deadline, but we may retain the cover page, transmittal letter, or electronic equivalent for seven (7) years. Otherwise, ITA erases applications that are late or submitted by ineligible applicants.
How can we expect to work with the federal project team if we win an MDCP award?
Federal project team members participate as appropriate in project activities. In the past, federal project team members have recruited participants for technical seminars, delivered presentations at seminars, and attended meetings where international standards are discussed. Federal project team members normally draw on separate government-administered funds to pay the costs associated with their participation. There also may be some situations where federal project team members may accept complementary services passed on from the cooperator such as hotel rooms.
Are there firms we are not allowed to help or goods or services we are not allowed to promote?
Yes. You may not promote:
- Agricultural goods.
- Goods or services whose cost of sales of U.S. origin is less than 51%.
You may not include activities or entities participating in project activities that would:
- Be contrary to applicable U.S. law
- Be contrary to federal government policy
- Be contrary to Department of Commerce policy
- Raise significant concerns of potential use or misuse to commit a gross violation of human rights or violation of civil and political rights
For example, ITA will not fund, sanction, or otherwise support an MDCP project to promote exports to North Korea.
Are we required to include members that are not part of our organization to participate?
Yes, benefits from your project should be available to all firms in the industry regardless if they are members or constituents you would typically serve. In some situations, you may charge lower fees to one class of firms than another. For example, a trade association could charge a lower participation fee to a member company than a nonmember. This is only permitted if the difference in fees is reasonable.
Can we get a copy of successful applications from prior years?
Versions of MDCP applications from successful applicants selected for funding in prior years are available to the public upon request. These are versions of the applications that have confidential business information or other sensitive information removed based on notations from the applicant. We can provide these to you quickly without going through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Identify the active awards that may be relevant to the kind of MDCP project you are interested in proposing. Request the applications you want to see from mdcp@trade.gov. Please be advised, however, that this applies only to the version of MDCP applications that ITA elects to make public. By providing these versions of the MDCP applications in response to your request, ITA does not waive its right to assert applicable privileges or exemptions under the FOIA or otherwise as to the nonpublic versions of MDCP applications or any other information. The submission of your request manifests your acknowledgement and acceptance of these terms.
Can a firm participating in project activity claim its expenses as in-kind match?
Probably not, because the primary benefit must accrue to the project, not in-kind contributor. The examples below illustrate this.
Example 1 is not in-kind match: A company pays its own arrangements to attend an industry exhibition that is part of your MDCP project. The company incurs airfare and other expenses for its own benefit, but not necessarily to accomplish project objectives. Such expenditures are more self-serving than true in-kind contributions to project success.
Example 2 is in-kind match: Airfare donated by a U.S. airline is in-kind match. Although the airline benefits from the goodwill associated with donating the service, it is the cooperator’s project that benefits directly when the airfare is used to achieve project objectives. The airline does not use the donated airfare itself and thereby benefits directly from it. (Because of the Fly America Act airfare donated by non-U.S.-flag air carriers cannot be claimed as a match.)
In our project budget, can we pledge more than the minimum required match?
Yes, you can, but this will lower your reimbursement rate. See the example below.
Let’s say you have a federal share (award amount) of $100,000. You contribute $100,000 cash and $200,000 of in-kind. This is a total match of $300,000 and is $200,000 more than the $100,000 minimum. The additional match pledge decreases the reimbursement percentage from 50% to 25%. In other words, you provide 75% of the funding ($300,000), and ITA provides 25% ($100,000).
In this example, to receive $1 of federal reimbursement, you must expend $4. You would be reimbursed from your award at 25% of your project budget expenditures. By contrast, if you had pledged the minimum match, 50% of all your project expenditures could be reimbursed to you from your award.
What is the distinction between direct and indirect costs?
Generally, direct costs are readily identifiable with a particular project, function, or activity. Examples include the salary/benefits of personnel engaged in accomplishing project work, project travel, and payments to contractors for project work. They appear as line items in your budget worksheets. Federal funds may be used only to cover direct costs.
Indirect costs, while necessary to your organization’s general operation and activity, they are not readily identifiable with a particular project, function, or activity. These are often referred to as “overhead” and usually include depreciation, administrative salaries, general telephone expense, and operation and maintenance of buildings and equipment.
The indirect cost rate is the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of an organization’s total indirect costs (numerator) to its direct cost base (denominator). All MDCP applicants use the same 10% indirect cost rate.
What is in-kind contribution?
In-kind contribution is match other than a cash contribution. Examples include the value of staff time of a partner organization, airfare donated by a U.S. airline, and cash paid by partner organizations for project expenses. You can only claim the fair market value of donated property or services.
For example, a lawyer who charges $250 per hour for legal advice would not be able to claim that high rate if their contribution to a project is setting up a video link for a webinar, not legal advice.
How do we determine the market value of an in-kind match?
The value of donated services is the dollar amount or rate that could reasonably be charged in the marketplace. For example, a consultant who donates their time as an in-kind match cannot value it at an amount greater than the amount they would be paid if they were to charge a paying client for the same type of work.
Can we include land or buildings as part of the in-kind match?
No, you cannot claim real estate as match of any kind.
Can we use award funds to attend an orientation meeting in Washington, D.C.?
Yes, you can use part of your MDCP award to cover travel and related expenses to attend an MDCP orientation meeting. Such meetings usually occur in October, but may occur in September before your project start date. In such cases, you can cover the cost with MDCP award funds or project matching funds. This is allowed even if (1) you did not include it in your budget, and (2) it occurs prior to the start of the project period.
Can we use a new MDCP award to supplement another active MDCP project?
Each application period is for new project applications. We do not supplement existing awards. The award amount that the cooperator receives at selection is the total for that project.
Can we use part of an MDCP award for a construction project?
No. Neither an MDCP award nor any portion of the matching funds is to be used for construction projects.
How many awards does ITA plan to make this year?
The number of projects funded each year varies based on funding availability. Typically the number of projects funded ranges from five to thirteen projects.
How much money can we request?
The maximum award amount is $300,000. This amount will not increase over the MDCP project timeline. Many applicants request a lesser amount.
Is an MDCP award a grant?
No, it is a cooperative agreement. Like a grant, an MDCP award is money that a winning applicant receives to undertake a project. Better than a grant, an MDCP award is a legal instrument that, in addition to providing funds, enables ITA to provide advice, coordination, and general support.
If an MDCP award is not a grant but, rather, a cooperative agreement, does it include money, like a grant?
Yes, like a grant, an MDCP cooperative agreement includes money transferred from the federal government to a recipient of the award.
It reflects a relationship between ITA and a recipient whenever:
- The principal purpose of the relationship is to transfer money, property, services, or anything of value to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by federal statute; and
- Substantial involvement (e.g., collaboration, participation, or intervention by ITA in the management of the project) is anticipated between ITA and the recipient during the performance of the contemplated activity.
Cooperative agreements are subject to the same OMB, Treasury, and other federal laws and policies as grants.
What is the total amount for MDCP awards this year?
Typically, funding ranges from $1-3 million per competition period.
