PRINTER-FRIENDLYAbout Recovery Act Data
About FedSpending.org Data
- FedSpending.org Data (Contracts and Assistance tabs)
- Contracts Data Dictionary
- Federal Assistance Data Dictionary
Recovery Act Recipient Reports Data (Recovery tab)
The data presented on the Recovery tab of FedSpending.org are downloaded from Recovery.gov, the website created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), and have not been altered. Except for the additional of some data fields, they are identical to what the public can download as recipient reported data from Recovery.gov.
The Recovery tab of FedSpending.org allows searching of over 100,000 reports from prime recipients of more than $250 billion in contracts, grants, and loans awarded under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Recovery Act) between Feb. 17, 2009 and Sep. 30, 2011, as well as additional information on sub-recipients and vendors. Recipients of Recovery Act funds are required to report quarterly about use of the money they receive. The first reports were made public on Oct. 30, 2009. Fedspending.org uses a dataset that was last updated on November 30, 2011.
Users can search through these records – individually or in aggregate – for a particular prime recipient, sub-recipient, ZIP code, congressional district, federal agency, award amount, and more.
In some cases, FedSpending.org presents or processes data on the Recovery tab in a different way than it is shown in the original government database. This is generally done for the convenience of users so data is more understandable and accessible. The original data fields and information from the government are also available unmodified in the Recovery tab of FedSpending.org and may be seen if the user chooses the "Recipient Reports" level of detail option available on all data searches in the Recovery tab. For more information on data fields in the Recovery tab, see the Recovery Data Dictionary.
"Net Amount Retained"
While OMB Watch has not changed the data from Recovery.gov, we have added a new field, called “Net Amount Retained.” The Net Amount Retained is the amount of money a prime recipient or sub-recipient does not pass on to another entity (such as a sub-recipient or vendor). This field is used to show the extent to which Recovery Act funds are passed from the prime recipient to a sub-recipient or a vendor without double-counting funds in the totals for searches. FedSpending.org's Recovery tab includes the "retained" calculation because it can be useful for understanding the actual amount of Recovery Act funding that stays with a certain entity or at a certain location.
For example, a search (see below or here) for how much money went to recipients in Arizona shows that prime recipients in the state were awarded $4.3 billion; they provided $1.1 billion in sub-awards and $235 million to vendors for a net amount retained of $3.0 billion. Note that some of the sub-awards or payments to vendors might be outside of Arizona, so they don't match the independent totals within the search for sub-recipients and vendors located in Arizona. (The website provides different levels of detail to learn more about where the money is going.)
Sub-recipients in the state received $1.1 billion; they provided $2 million to vendors (the government is not collecting information on the amount sub-recipients provide in sub-awards) for a net amount retained of $1.1 billion. Vendors located in the state received $12.7 million from both prime and sub-recipients. Adding each of the net amounts retained plus the payments to vendors gives the total net amount of Recovery Act funds retained by Arizona recipients, which is $4 billion for this search.
Cumulative vs Quarterly Datasets
The Recovery.gov Web site now supplies, and Fedspending.org uses, a cumulative dataset as well as a quarter-by-quarter dataset. The basic purpose of the cumulative dataset is as follows: recipients of Recovery Act funds must report in each quarter. Each quarter's report contains the full award amount they have been awarded to date, the full amount they have received, and so on -- not just the amount awarded or received in that quarter. Therefore, adding recipient reports from more than one quarter together in a straightforward way would result in double or multiple counting.
However, you can't just use the latest quarter information by itself if you want a full picture of Recovery Act funds, because it won't include recipients whose project completed in earlier quarter(s) and therefore didn't report in the latest one. The cumulative dataset includes records from all quarters that can be added together in a straightforward way to get a total of Recovery Act funds.
To quote a prior version of the Recovery.gov site from when the last quarter ended March 2010, the cumulative dataset "include[s] data on: awards made from January 1, 2010 ? March 31, 2010 that recipients reported on in April 2010; projects completed prior to March 31, 2010; and projects not completed prior to March 31, 2010 that the recipients should have reported on again in April 2010, but did not."
We believe that most users of Recovery Act data will want to use the cumulative dataset. The cumulative dataset is what has been used to prepare all of the tables that are accessed through the Fedspending.org sidebar, and is the default for all searches. However, users who would prefer the quarterly dataset (because they wish to which reports actually came in in which quarter) can select that instead through the Advanced search. Because it would be highly confusing to add together records in the quarterly dataset across quarters, you can only see one quarter of data at a time if you do this.
Records in the cumulative dataset have apparently been assigned to the latest quarter by Recovery.gov if the award that they are for extends into that quarter. The only records for earlier quarters are apparently only those that ended in that quarter.
Choice of which quarter you would like to retrieve through the Advanced Search works along with cumulative vs quarter dataset as follows:
- If you do a cumulative search with no quarter choice, you get a cumulative total of all the Recovery awards so far (that meet the other criteria of your search).
- If you do a cumulative search and choose a quarter, you get either:
- All of the projects that finished in that quarter, if you chose a quarter that is not the latest one, or;
- All of the projects that either started in the quarter or continued into it, if you chose the latest quarter.
- If you do a quarterly search, you must choose a quarter or it defaults to the latest one. You get whichever projects were reported on in the quarter that you chose.
A Note on Data Quality
As noted above, the data on the Recovery tab of FedSpending.org were reported by recipients of Recovery Act funds and have not been altered by OMB Watch. The site to which recipients report, FederalReporting.gov, performs minimal checks on the information to ensure that recipient reports are accurate. Recipients of Recovery Act funds are allowed to enter questionable (for example, zero jobs reported created or saved for projects expending more than $1 million) and even nonsensical (for example, entering spending reports for congressional districts that do not exist) data. Currently, Recovery.gov and FederalReporting.gov have no mechanisms to screen for these data.
An example of poor data quality can be seen on the summary view for the entire FedSpending.org Recovery tab dataset (see here). The amount awarded to sub-recipients by prime recipients should equal the amount received by sub-recipients from prime recipients. However, the method by which we calculate both amounts indicates that these two figures are not equal. This inequality is the result of sub-recipient reports containing award amounts different from what is indicated in prime recipient reports and errors in other data that link prime recipient reports to sub-recipient reports.
It is important to note that one of the reasons transparency is important is because it serves to improve data quality. That millions of people have seen these reports and call into question some of the data is the first step toward implementing policies and technology that will increase the quality of data reported by recipients of federal funds.
Background on Recovery Act Recipient Reporting
On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Recovery Act, providing $787 billion to boost the economy and address the nation’s health, education, energy, and infrastructure needs. Most of the money will be spent by 2012, with the largest amounts being spent in 2010.
President Obama promised unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability for this law. Before signing it, the president said every American would be able to easily track the spending online and announced the launching of Recovery.gov. The Recovery.gov website provides public access to roughly one-third of the $787 billion in Recovery Act funding; it only includes information on federal grants, loans, and contracts, and nothing on entitlements or tax breaks.
This is the first time that recipients of federal funds must report in a timely and transparent manner. While this new approach has potential to set a precedent for reporting and disclosure under annual federal spending, the first round has also been fraught with data quality issues. Since the data on this website comes from Recovery.gov, it includes whatever data errors that website contains.
FedSpending.org Data (Contracts and Assistance tabs)
Unusual Datapoint in FY2009 Data Load (added November 2, 2009)
There was some unusual data contained within the data load launched on October 22, 2009 related to the "Construction of structures and facilities" product and service code. Specifically, FedSpending.org currently shows the federal government to have deallocated just under $8 billion in FY 2009 for that product and service code (see screenshot below). While deallocations are present throughout the FedSpending.org dataset, it is very unusual to have such a large deallocation.
After investigating the data further, it appears a single contract transaction to EMERSON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. was incorrectly entered into the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) on September 29, 2009 (the second to last day of FY 2008). This transaction was for over $13 billion, or 62 times more money than Emerson had received in all of its federal contracts totaled up since FY 2000. It was also roughtly same amount of money the federal government spent on construction of structures and facilities in FY 2003, which it spread across 5,224 different contractors that year.
We suspect the error was discovered and corrected at a later date, after FY 2008 had ended, because Emerson is listed as having an almost equally large deallocation in FY 2009 on January 7, 2009. Our experience has shown it is typical when correcting errors in FPDS to simply add another transaction that reconciles the total amount given to a contractor rather than editing the actual transaction that contained the error. Unforunately, the end result for FedSpending.org (and USAspending.gov for that matter) is that the totals for this product and service code in both FY 2008 and FY 2009 are incorrect, as are totals for other views on FedSpending.org that included those two transactions to Emerson Construction Company.
Data Modifications
In some cases, FedSpending.org presents or processes data in a different way than it is shown in the original government databases. This is generally done for the convenience of users so data is more understandable and accessible. The original data fields and information from the government are also available unmodified in FedSpending.org and may be seen if the user chooses the "Complete (all information)" level of detail option available on all data searches (For more information on the complete levels of detail fields in FedSpending.org, see the Contracts Data Dictionary and the Federal Assistance Data Dictionary.
The cases where FedSpending.org has modified data from the
Federal Assistance Awards Data System (FAADS) and the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) are outlined below in three sections:
Changes to Assistance and Contracts Data
Changes to Assistance Data
Changes to Contracts Data
Contracts and Assistance Dollar Quantities
Fedspending presents dollar amounts of contracts and assistance as totals of obligated amounts (for contracts) and Federal assistance amounts (for assistance). This is different from how Usaspending.gov presents assistance amounts, because that site uses the Original Loan Subsidy Cost instead of the Federal Assistance Amount for loans. Fedspending will probably do this in future data updates.
In data releases before this latest one, Fedspending presented Award records but not IDV (Indefinite Delivery Vehicle) records, records which can allocate money to be spend in one or many later awards. Fedspending now includes IDV records. These are added into totals via their obligated amounts, just like awards are. There are additional data fields for IDV records which give the total amount that may be spent over the life of the vehicle; these have not been totalled since this money may not actually be spent.
Changes to Both Assistance and Contracts Data
Congressional District
We have regularized Congressional Districts to some extent by treating all
incorrect codes/districts within a state as being district "90"
(unknown), "98" (nonvoting), or "00" (statewide), depending
on the state. Records with invalid state codes are listed as district
"ZZ".
Major agencies
FedSpending.org has modified FAADS, FPDS, and Recovery data to streamline the display of
federal government agencies. Rather than produce tables that include each
sub-agency within the data, it is advantageous to be able to produce tables and
output by "major" agency. These generally correspond to departments of
the federal government, but some were also chosen because they have a large
number of awards. The "major" agencies are shown below:
Agency |
|---|
Dept. of Agriculture |
Dept. of Commerce |
Dept. of Defense* |
Dept. of Education |
Dept. of Energy |
Dept. of Health and Human Services |
Dept. of Homeland Security |
Dept. of Housing and Urban Development |
Dept. of the Interior |
Dept. of Justice |
Dept. of Labor |
Dept. of State |
Dept. of Transportation |
Dept. of the Treasury |
Dept. of Veterans Affairs |
Environmental Protection Agency |
General Services Administration** |
NASA |
National Science Foundation** |
Nuclear Regulatory Commission** |
Office of Personnel Management** |
Small Business Administration |
Social Security Administration |
U.S. Agency for International Development** |
All other agencies*** |
Recovery data adds the Legislative Branch, the Judical Branch, and the Executive Office of the President as "major agencies".
*The Dept. of Defense, as listed here, includes the Dept. of the Army, Dept. of the Air Force, Dept. of the Navy, the civil Corps of Engineers, and the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home, even though these have different initial two-digit agency codes in the federal agency coding scheme.
**GSA is listed as a major agency for contracts, but not for assistance. NSF, NRC, U.S. AID, and the Office of Personnel Management are listed as major agencies for assistance, but not for contracts. Otherwise the FAADS and FPDS major agency lists are the same.
***The agencies combined into "All other agencies" above are different between FAADS, FPDS, and Recovery data. Below are details for the "All other agencies" category for each database:
FAADS "All other agencies"::
Agency |
Number of transactions |
|---|---|
| Railroad Retirement Board | 139,803 |
| Corporation for National and Community Service | 40,915 |
| National Endowment for the Arts | 21,568 |
| National Endowment for the Humanities | 12,727 |
| Export-Import Bank of the U.S. | 11,937 |
| Institute of Museum Services | 10,261 |
| Appalachian Regional Commission | 3,746 |
| African Development Foundation | 1,444 |
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | 1,090 |
| Smithsonian Institution, except units under separate Board of Trustees | 999 |
| National Historical Publications and Records Commission | 950 |
| United States Institute of Peace | 339 |
| Election Assistance Commission | 268 |
| Denali Commission | 149 |
| Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission | 147 |
| Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service | 103 |
| National Credit Union Administration | 85 |
| Selective Service System | 1 |
| National Labor Relations Board | 1 |
FPDS "All Other Contracting Agencies":
Agency |
Number of transactions |
|---|---|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | 17,014 |
| Broadcasting Board of Governors | 16,283 |
| Smithsonian Institution, except units under separate Board of Trustees | 15,070 |
| NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION | 8,233 |
| Federal Communications Commission | 5,915 |
| EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT | 5,712 |
| Peace Corps | 5,591 |
| Securities and Exchange Commission | 5,241 |
| Consumer Product Safety Commission | 5,114 |
| Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation | 4,781 |
| Corporation for National and Community Service | 4,696 |
| Federal Trade Commission | 4,578 |
| Federal Election Commission | 3,827 |
| Millennium Challenge Corporation | 3,348 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | 2,536 |
| Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (disused code) | 2,304 |
| National Labor Relations Board | 2,188 |
| Commodity Futures Trading Commission | 2,090 |
| National Transportation Safety Board | 1,863 |
| Court Serv. and Offender Supervision Agency for District of Columbia | 1,655 |
| John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | 1,273 |
| National Gallery of Art | 1,255 |
| Pretrial Services Agency - CSOSA | 1,121 |
| Merit Systems Protection Board | 1,020 |
| Selective Service System | 887 |
| Trade and Development Agency | 792 |
| International Boundary and Water Commission: U.S.-Mexico | 779 |
| National Endowment for the Humanities | 765 |
| National Mediation Board | 621 |
| Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board | 513 |
| Federal Maritime Commission | 478 |
| National Endowment for the Arts | 309 |
| None listed | 241 |
| National Capital Planning Commission | 218 |
| Library of Congress | 206 |
| Institute of Museum Services | 201 |
| Commission on Civil Rights | 172 |
| Office of Special Counsel | 109 |
| U.S. International Trade Commission | 106 |
| Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission | 83 |
| Overseas Private Investment Corporation | 76 |
| National Commission on Libraries and Information Science | 68 |
| Federal Housing Finance Board | 51 |
| Federal Labor Relations Authority | 48 |
| Election Assistance Commission | 44 |
| African Development Foundation | 24 |
| Committee for Purchase from People who are Blind or Severely Disabled | 19 |
| Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars | 13 |
| U.S. Agency for International Development | 7 |
FPDS "All Other Funding Agencies":
Agency |
Number of transactions |
|---|---|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | 17,103 |
| Broadcasting Board of Governors | 16,400 |
| Smithsonian Institution, except units under separate Board of Trustees | 15,091 |
| NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION | 9,204 |
| Securities and Exchange Commission | 6,038 |
| Federal Communications Commission | 5,959 |
| Peace Corps | 5,618 |
| Consumer Product Safety Commission | 5,135 |
| Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation | 4,785 |
| Corporation for National and Community Service | 4,710 |
| Federal Trade Commission | 4,586 |
| EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT | 4,305 |
| Federal Election Commission | 3,828 |
| Millennium Challenge Corporation | 3,365 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | 2,629 |
| Armed Forces Retirement Home | 2,439 |
| National Labor Relations Board | 2,371 |
| Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (disused code) | 2,308 |
| Commodity Futures Trading Commission | 2,102 |
| National Transportation Safety Board | 1,863 |
| Court Serv. and Offender Supervision Agency for District of Columbia | 1,662 |
| Inter-American Foundation | 1,410 |
| John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | 1,274 |
| National Gallery of Art | 1,255 |
| Pretrial Services Agency - CSOSA | 1,123 |
| THE JUDICIAL BRANCH | 1,098 |
| Merit Systems Protection Board | 1,053 |
| Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board | 917 |
| Selective Service System | 893 |
| Office of Administration | 871 |
| Trade and Development Agency | 809 |
| International Boundary and Water Commission: U.S.-Mexico | 779 |
| National Endowment for the Humanities | 765 |
| Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation | 736 |
| Federal Maritime Commission | 686 |
| National Mediation Board | 637 |
| Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board | 571 |
| Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board | 514 |
| THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH | 468 |
| Office of the National Drug Control Policy | 442 |
| Office of Special Counsel | 432 |
| Office of Management and Budget | 417 |
| Library of Congress | 332 |
| National Endowment for the Arts | 320 |
| U.S. Agency for International Development | 315 |
| Bankruptcy Courts | 290 |
| Minerals Management Service | 284 |
| White House Office | 278 |
| None listed | 244 |
| U.S. District and Territorial Courts | 241 |
| National Capital Planning Commission | 225 |
| Office of the United States Trade Representative | 223 |
| Denali Commission | 223 |
| Institute of Museum Services | 204 |
| National Commission on Libraries and Information Science | 193 |
| United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home | 184 |
| Farm Credit Administration | 174 |
| Commission on Civil Rights | 173 |
| Government Printing Office | 165 |
| Federal Labor Relations Authority | 149 |
| Office of Homeland Security | 145 |
| Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission | 141 |
| U.S. Court of Federal Claims | 132 |
| Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations | 128 |
| Central Intelligence Agency | 119 |
| U.S. International Trade Commission | 119 |
| Federal Housing Finance Board | 114 |
| Overseas Private Investment Corporation | 113 |
| U. S. Postal Service | 112 |
| Office of Policy, Management and Budget/Chief Financial Officer | 95 |
| African Development Foundation | 79 |
| Bureau of the Public Debt | 79 |
| Election Assistance Commission | 72 |
| Federal Technology Service | 67 |
| National Credit Union Administration | 66 |
| Office of Science and Technology Policy | 58 |
| Office of the Vice President of the United States | 57 |
| NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | 50 |
| Council of Economic Advisors | 49 |
| Committee for Purchase from People who are Blind or Severely Disabled | 44 |
| Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | 43 |
| U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit | 40 |
| Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council | 40 |
| National Security Council | 33 |
| Office of Policy Development | 26 |
| Council on Environmental Quality/Office of Environmental Quality | 26 |
| Federal Public Defenders | 23 |
| ARMY, Department of the (except Corps of Engineers Civil Program Financing) | 21 |
| Office of Government Ethics | 18 |
| Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management | 14 |
| Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission | 14 |
| U.S. Courts of Appeals-Judicial Circuits (except Federal Circuit) | 14 |
| General Accounting Office | 14 |
| Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars | 13 |
| U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims | 13 |
| STATE, Department of | 13 |
| U.S. Tax Court | 12 |
| Congress, generally, no additional specification available | 12 |
| Forest Service | 11 |
| Advisory Council On Historic Preservation | 11 |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission | 11 |
| VETERANS AFFAIRS, Department of | 11 |
| U. S. Postal Inspection Service | 10 |
| Court Security | 9 |
| Congressional Budget Office | 8 |
| Morris K. Udall Scholarship National Environmental Policy Foundation | 8 |
| International Development Association | 7 |
| GAO, except Comptroller General | 6 |
| U.S. Court of International Trade | 6 |
| Federal Reserve System, Board of Governors | 5 |
| Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service | 5 |
| Federal Judicial Center | 4 |
| NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES | 4 |
| Agricultural Research Service | 4 |
| Employment and Training Administration | 4 |
| Farm Service Agency | 4 |
| American Institute in Taiwan | 3 |
| Federal Supply Service | 2 |
| American Battle Monuments Commission | 2 |
| Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries | 2 |
| State Justice Institute | 2 |
| Natural Resources Conservation Service | 2 |
| OMB, except Director | 2 |
| National Park Service | 2 |
| Public Buildings Service | 2 |
| Inst. of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Devel. | 2 |
| Export-Import Bank of the U.S. | 2 |
| Comm. on the Intel. Capabilities of U.S. Regarding Weapons Mass Destruct. | 1 |
| National Institutes of Health | 1 |
| Mississippi River Commission | 1 |
| Employee Benefits Security Administration | 1 |
| Patent and Trademark Office/Under Secretary for Intellectual Property | 1 |
| Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | 1 |
| Natl. Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin. / Under Sec. Oceans and Atmosphere | 1 |
| Indian Affairs (Assistant Secretary) | 1 |
| Architect of the Capitol | 1 |
| Food and Drug Administration | 1 |
| Drug Enforcement Administration | 1 |
| Associate Justices of the Supreme Court | 1 |
| Comptroller General of the United States | 1 |
| House of Representatives, The | 1 |
Recovery "All Other Awarding Agencies":
Agency |
Number of transactions |
|---|---|
| NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION | 7,996 |
| Unknown agency | 1,290 |
| National Endowment for the Arts | 1,118 |
| Corporation for National and Community Service | 631 |
| Federal Communications Commission | 217 |
| Smithsonian Institution, except units under separate Board of Trustees | 68 |
| General Accounting Office | 21 |
| Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board | 21 |
| Other Small Agencies | 5 |
| GAO, except Comptroller General | 2 |
| U.S. Tax Court | 2 |
| State Justice Institute | 1 |
| Export-Import Bank of the U.S. | 1 |
| White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance | 1 |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission | 1 |
| Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service | 1 |
| Overseas Private Investment Corporation | 1 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | 1 |
Recovery "All Other Funding Agencies":
Agency |
Number of transactions |
|---|---|
| NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION | 7,996 |
| Unknown agency | 1,290 |
| National Endowment for the Arts | 1,118 |
| Corporation for National and Community Service | 631 |
| Federal Communications Commission | 176 |
| Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board | 71 |
| Smithsonian Institution, except units under separate Board of Trustees | 68 |
| General Accounting Office | 22 |
| Federal Maritime Commission | 3 |
| Federal Housing Finance Board | 2 |
| U.S. Tax Court | 2 |
| National Endowment for the Humanities | 2 |
| Farm Credit Administration | 2 |
| Export-Import Bank of the U.S. | 1 |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission | 1 |
| Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service | 1 |
| Overseas Private Investment Corporation | 1 |
Changes to Only Grants Data (FAADS)
Recipient Definition and "Best Recipient Name"
FAADS now includes a recipient Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) number that can be used
to define a single recipient of assistance across multiple records (i.e.,
one entry that would list multiple awards for the same recipient). It is
convenient to group records together in this way, since it is useful to
look up a single recipient and find out the total assistance
for any given year. However, not all recipient records have D&B numbers.
Therefore, FedSpending.org has created its own recipient ID based on the following steps: first, records with the same D&B number are grouped together. Then, those without a D&B number have the name of the recipient in each record regularized by discarding some punctuation, removing words like "Co." or "Inc.", and standardizing certain abbreviations. Then, all records with no D&B number and with the same regularized recipient name and recipient state are assumed to belong to the same recipient. All recipient groupings are done on a year-by-year basis, since it is not clear whether D&B numbers really track the same entity over multiple years.
This method of grouping records with no D&B number by recipient name and state has some disadvantages. It may, for instance, treat a multi-state recipient as being more than one entity, thereby listing the same group twice in different states, or it may group unrelated entities together that happen to have the same name within the same state. But, the advantages of a common recipient name to enable aggregate totals across records outweigh the problems.
Grouping records together by D&B Number means that a single recipient may now exist (via scattered facilities or offices, presumably) in more than one state. Therefore, when recipients are listed, the recipients that are defined by D&B number have their D&B number listed, while the ones whose records had a blank D&B number have their state listed.
After records are grouped together by recipient, a single overall recipient name is chosen for each group of records, based on the most commonly occurring name within the un-standardized recipient names for the group. In other words, if a group of three records in the same year all had the same D&B number, but two records had the recipient name Alpha Corp while the third record had the recipient name XYZ Corp, Alpha Corp would be used as the overall recipient name for this recipient. Fedspending.org refers to this as the "Best Recipient Name", and the original recipient name provided as part of each record as the "Recipient Name". Most name searches on the site use the Best Recipient Name, because this guarantees that you'll retrieve all of the records for a recipient when you search by name. However, you can search on the original Recipient Name if you prefer by using the Advanced Search.
Fiscal Year
Sometimes FAADS marks information as being either corrections to data for a
previous fiscal year or as late filings for a previous fiscal year. To give the
proper scope of federal spending in any given fiscal year, we have displayed
these data as being part of the fiscal year that they modify, not as part of
the fiscal year in which they were reported.
Recipient Type
FAADS' categorization of what type of entity receives assistance (e.g., individual,
state government, private higher education) and how the assistance is delivered
(e.g., direct payment, loan, block grant) includes too many values to be
conveniently displayed on FedSpending.org. Therefore, we have grouped the
original recipient types and assistance type into streamlined summary
categories. Users can access the detailed categories FAADS uses by selecting
the "Complete (all information)" level of detail option available for
all data output. The FedSpending.org groupings for recipient type and
assistance type are detailed in the two charts below:
Recipient Type Translations
FedSpending.org recipient category |
FAADS recipient type |
|---|---|
government |
state government |
government |
county government |
government |
city or township government |
government |
special district government |
government |
independent school district |
higher ed |
State controlled institution of higher education |
government |
Indian tribe |
nonprofit |
other nonprofit |
higher ed |
private higher education |
individual |
individual |
for profit |
profit organization |
for profit |
small business |
other |
all other |
Assistance Type Translations
FedSpending.org assistance category |
FAADS assistance type |
|---|---|
grants and co-op. agreements |
block grant |
grants and co-op. agreements |
formula grant |
grants and co-op. agreements |
project grant |
grants and co-op. agreements |
cooperative agreement |
direct payments (both specified and unspecified) |
direct payment for specified use, as a subsidy or other non-reimbursable direct financial aid |
loans (both direct and guaranteed) |
direct loan |
loans (both direct and guaranteed) |
guaranteed/insured loan |
insurance |
insurance |
direct payments (both specified and unspecified) |
direct payment with unrestricted use (retirement, pension, veterans benefits, etc.) |
other |
other reimbursable, contingent, intangible, or indirect financial assistance |
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Program Titles
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Program is a database that
classifies all federal programs that provide funding to local government
agencies, private institutions, and individuals. Each program is assigned a
number and name. Most of the time, CFDA program numbers match up with
associated program titles easily. However, there are instances of CFDA program
numbers appearing in FAADS that are not listed in the current CFDA program
title list. When this happens, FedSpending.org chooses a single best program
title for each non-associated number. In some cases this suppresses variations
in program titles for a single CFDA program number.
Changes to Only Contracts Data (FPDS)
Parent Company Definition and Names
The most basic task that many users want to accomplish is to look up a
particular contractor and find out which contracts they have received. This
makes the most sense if done by parent company -- the entity that owns multiple
divisions, "doing business as" names, or subsidiaries that may show up as
individual contractor names.
FPDS now includes a parent company name and D&B (Dun and Bradstreet) number. It also includes a parent company name, a set of vendor names (ordinary name, alternate name, doing-business-as name, legal name), and a vendor D&B number. Unfortunately, some of the parent company D&B numbers are not filled in, and some of the parent company information varies within D&B number -- for instance, a group of records may have the same parent D&B number but different parent company names.
It is clearly adventageous for users if records that are owned by the same business entity can be grouped together under a single name. Therefore, Fedspending created additional name fields as follows: first, a "best vendor name" was created for each record with the vendor name, alternate name, legal name, doing business name, or parent name in it -- whichever was first filled in. In other words, if all of the vendor name fields for the record were blank, the parent name would be used as the best vendor name. Then records were grouped together by parent. This was done by 9-digit parent D&B number, if it existed, by vendor D&B number if parent D&B was blank, and by regularized parent name if both D&B numbers were blank. Each grouping of records made in this way was assigned a parent ID, and then a single parent name for the group was created by having a computer program select the most common parent name within records in the group. Fedspending calls this most common name the "best parent name" and displays it in most places where a company name is displayed.
For groupings of records with no parent D&B number, Fedspending displays their best parent name as including their vendor D&B, i.e. "Smith Co. (vendor D&B: 123456789)". This is intended to show users that the grouping has been made by vendor instead of parent D&B. If the grouping has been made with no D&B number, " (no D&B)" is displayed with the name. This can mean that the same company name can appear multiple times, once as a grouping of records by parent D&B, once as a grouping of record with no parent D&B but with the same D&B number filled in as the vendor D&B, and once as a grouping of records with no D&B. Fedspending may consider combining these in some fashion in later data updates.
Lastly, records were only grouped together by parent within fiscal years. This is because companies will often change their name from one year to another without changing their D&B number, or change which vendors they own via mergers, acquisitions, and splits. Therefore, the Fedspending "best parent name" will only be chosen among records in the same fiscal year. This does make it difficult to track a particular company among multiple fiscal years, however, and Fedspending may in the future consider handling this differently.
Competition Category
There are five data fields in FPDS that are useful for assessing the level of
competition of a contract: the Extent Competed, Reason Not Competed,
Number of Offers Received, Statutory Exception to Fair Opportunity,
and Type of Set Aside. FedSpending.org has combined information from all
five of these fields into one overall summation of the amount of competition
for each transaction, called the competition category. More specific
"transactions" are summed by these new competition categories in
various tables.
Transactions were classified as follows. "Full and open" competition means that all responsible sources (or potential contractors) are permitted to compete. Those with Extent Competed indicating full and open competition or competitive delivery order were provisionally put in the full and open competition category. "Full and open with at least one exclusion" includes competitions in which a certain sources are not permitted to compete. "Exclusive competitions" can happen only if certain conditions are met. Transactions were removed from this category that had a reason for non-competition, a statutory exception to fair opportunity, or a set-aside and added to the "competition after exclusion of sources" category. Those remaining in the full and open competition category that had zero or one offers were moved to a category of full and open competition with only one bid. The other noncompetition categories are modeled from FPDS Extent Competed values. "Follow-on contract" is a contract that continues the funding stream and obligations of a contract that has already been issued.
The table below shows how FedSpending.org streamlines FPDS competition
categories:
FPDS 'Extent Competed' Description |
FedSpending.org Competition Category |
Exceptions |
|---|---|---|
Full and Open Competition |
Full and open competition |
except for records moved to categories below |
Competitive Delivery Order |
Full and open competition |
except for records moved to categories below |
Full and Open Competition |
Competed after exclusion of sources |
Records with a reason for noncompetition, statutory exception to fair opportunity, or set-aside |
Competitive Delivery Order |
Competed after exclusion of sources |
Records with a reason for noncompetition, statutory exception to fair opportunity, or set-aside |
Full and Open Competition |
Full and open competition, but only one bid |
Records still in "full and open competition category", but with zero or one offers |
Competitive Delivery Order |
Full and open competition, but only one bid |
Records still in "full and open competition category", but with zero or one offers |
Full and Open Competition after exclusion of sources |
Competed after exclusion of sources |
|
Competed under SAT (Simplified Acquisition Threshold) |
Competed after exclusion of sources |
|
Not Available for Competition |
Not available for competition |
|
Follow On to Competed Action |
Follow-on to previous contract |
|
Not Competed |
Not competed |
|
Not Competed, under SAT (Simplified Acquisition Threshold) |
Not competed |
|
Non-Competitive Delivery Order |
Not competed |
|
Competition Graphs
Contractor profiles and summary level search results receive
pie charts which graphs four categories for levels of competition. The graph
uses Full and Open Competition, and Full and Open Competition But Only One Bid
unaltered from the rest of the site. However, most of the remaining categories
(Competition after Exclusion of Sources, Follow-on Contract, Not Available for
Competition, and Not Competed) are compressed into one group on the graph
(although the accompanying table still lists the specific amounts for the
individual categories) which represents less than full competition. The final
category used for the graph is unknown. It should also be noted that for
graphing purposes, negative numbers, which represent deobligated funds, are
treated as zero in the graph (although they are listed in the accompanying table).
Contracts Data Dictionary
This is a list of all of the data fields in FedSpending.org's copy of the FPDS (federal contracts) database. It can be used to see what kind of data each field displayed in the extensive or complete levels of detail contains. The "Field Type" column provides the type and size of the field, in case you wish to load FedSpending.org data into your own database. The "% blank" column shows what percentage of the data records have the data field blank -- this can be useful when you want to estimate whether a particular data element is well maintained or not.
Section: Amounts
This section shows dollar amounts of awards and IDVs.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Dollars Obligated | The net dollar amount that is obligated or de-obligated by this transaction. If the net is a de-obligation, the amount will be negative. | double(18,2) | 9.83 | All |
| Current Contract Value | The contract value in dollars for the base contract and any options that have been exercised. For a new award, this is a total; for a modification, it is a change in value (positive or negative). | double(18,2) | 23.45 | All |
| Ultimate Contract Value | The total contract or order value in dollars including all options (if any). For IDVs, the estimated value for all orders expected to be placed against the vehicle. For modifications, the change (positive or negative) in the total contract value. | double(18,2) | 29.41 | All |
Section: Purchaser Information
This section shows information about the purchaser for the award or IDV, i.e. the governmental agency or agencies that made the purchase, and what programs it was purchased under.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Major Agency | The original FPDS contracting agency code, modified by fedspending.org to show the major agency giving out the contract. Major agencies are usually departments of the government. All minor agencies are listed within a general category. | char(2) | 0.00 | All |
| Modified Contracting Agency | The contracting agency code, as modified by fedspending.org to replace disused agency codes with current ones. | varchar(4) | 0.00 | All |
| Contracting Agency | A code for the governmental agency or bureau that executed or is otherwise responsible for the transaction. | varchar(4) | 0.00 | All |
| Contracting Office | The agency supplied code for the contracting office that executes the transaction. | varchar(6) | 0.00 | All |
| Major Funding Agency | The original FPDS funding agency code, modified by fedspending.org to show the major agency funding the contract. Major agencies are usually departments of the government. All minor agencies are listed within a general category. | char(2) | 0.00 | All |
| Modified Funding Agency | The funding agency code, as modified by fedspending.org to replace disused agency codes with current ones. | varchar(4) | 0.00 | All |
| Program / Funding Agency | A code for the agency that provided the preponderance of the funds obligated by this transaction. If left blank, defaults to Contracting Agency. | varchar(4) | 40.96 | All |
| Program / Funding Office | The agency provided code that identifies the office that provided the preponderance of funds. If the Funding Agency is a DoD agency, the code is the DoD Activity Address Code (DODAAC). | varchar(6) | 42.98 | All |
| Funded by Foreign Government or International Org. | Indicates that a foreign government, international organization, or foreign military organization bears some of the cost of the acquisition. | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| Agency Within TAS | The agency code part (first two characters) of the Treasury Account Symbol (TAS) code for the category of funding. | char(2) | 77.21 | All |
| Account Within TAS | The account code part (third to sixth characters) of the Treasury Account Symbol (TAS) code for the category of funding. | varchar(4) | 77.21 | All |
| Sub-Account Within TAS | The sub-account code part (seventh to ninth characters) of the Treasury Account Symbol (TAS) code for the category of funding. | char(3) | 98.48 | All |
| Account Title | The description of the program source. | varchar(100) | 82.17 | All |
| Recovery Flag | Indicates whether the Treasury Account Symbol is for Recovery (i.e. if the funding is associated with the Recovery Act). | char(1) | 99.73 | All |
Section: Contract Information
This section shows basic contract information for an award or IDV.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Type of Contract | Indicates whether the type of contract for this record is a Contract (c) or Vehicle (v). | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| Signed Date (Character) | The signed date in character rather than date format. Includes invalid dates. | varchar(10) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Date Signed | The date that a mutually binding agreement was reached. The date signed by the Contracting Officer or the Contractor, whichever is later. | date | 0.00 | All |
| Effective Date (Character) | The effective date in character rather than date format. Includes invalid dates. | varchar(10) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Effective Date | The date that the parties agree will be the starting date for the contract's requirements. Usually, this is the same as the date signed, but may be different. | date | 0.00 | All |
| Current Completion Date (Character) | The current completion date in character rather than date format. Includes invalid dates. | varchar(10) | 3.12 | Complete only |
| Current Completion Date | The current expected or scheduled contract completion date, based on the initial schedule, any options exercised at the time of the award, and any modifications made later. | date | 3.12 | All |
| Ultimate Completion Date (Character) | The ultimate completion date in character rather than date format. Includes invalid dates. | varchar(10) | 21.44 | Complete only |
| Ultimate Completion Date | The estimated or scheduled completion date including the base contract or order and all options (if any) whether the options have been exercised or not. Defaults to be the same as the Current Completion Date. | date | 21.44 | All |
| IDV Type | The type of IDV. Types include Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC), Multi-Agency Contract, Other Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC), Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA), and Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA). | varchar(50) | 0.00 | All |
| Reason For Modification | Code for the type of modification to an award or IDV performed by this transaction. | char(1) | 76.90 | All |
| Type of Contract Pricing | The type of contract as defined in FAR Part 16 that applies to this procurement. Can be fixed price, cost plus, labor hours, etc. | char(1) | 7.92 | All |
| Letter Contract | Indicates whether the award is a Letter Contract. | char(1) | 0.07 | All |
| Multi-Year Contract | Indicates whether this is a multi-year contract, a contract for the purchase of supplies or services for more than 1, but not more than 5, program years. Such contracts are issued under specific congressional authority for specific programs. | char(1) | 5.97 | All |
| Performance-Based Service Contract | Indicates whether the contract is a Performace-Based Service Acquisition (PBSA) as defined by FAR 37.601. A PBSA describes the requirements in terms of results rather than the methods of performance of the work and has other detailed requirements. | char(1) | 0.01 | All |
| Major Program | The agency determined code for a major program within the agency. For an Indefinite Delivery Vehicle, this may be the name of a GWAC (e.g., ITOPS or COMMITS). | varchar(250) | 98.31 | All |
| Contingency, Humanitarian, or Peacekeeping Operation | Indicates contract actions that exceed $200,000 and support a contingency operation, a humanitarian operation, or a peacekeeping operation. | char(1) | 96.57 | All |
| Cost or Pricing Data DoD | Indicates whether cost or pricing data was obtained, not obtained, or waived for DoD assigned contracts. | char(1) | 80.15 | All |
| Contract Financing | Type of financing used to effect payment (progress payments, advance payments, etc.). | char(1) | 68.67 | All |
| Cost Accounting Standards Clause | Indicates whether the contract includes a Cost Accounting Standards clause. | char(1) | 5.24 | All |
| Contract Description | A brief description of the goods or services bought (for an award) or that are available (for an IDV). | text | 77.64 | All |
| Purchase Card As Payment Method | Indicates whether the method of payment under an award is the Purchase Card. Agencies may issue formal contract documents and make payment using the Purchase Card. It is also permitted that agencies may report Purchase Card purchases. | char(1) | 3.12 | All |
| Number of Actions | The number of actions that involved contract modifications for additional supplies or services. Can be reported for new contracts or contract modification transactions. | int(11) | 3.12 | All |
| National Interest Action | Contracts created in response to "national interests" (e.g. Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita). | varchar(100) | 0.05 | All |
| IDV Last Date To Order (Character) | The IDV last date to order, in character rather than date format. Includes invalid dates. | varchar(10) | 96.93 | Complete only |
| IDV Last Date To Order | Last date on which an order may be placed against this indefinite delivery vehicle. For IDV records only. | date | 96.93 | All |
| Type of IDC | Identifies whether the Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) or Multi-Agency Contract is Indefinite Delivery/Requirements, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity, or Indefinite Delivery/Definite Quantity. For IDV records only. | char(1) | 98.27 | All |
| Multiple or Single Award IDC | Equals M if the contract is one of several awarded under a single solicitation when contracting officers are required to compare or compete their requirements among several vendors, otherwise S. For IDV records only. | char(1) | 97.36 | All |
| Program Acronym | The short name or title used for a GWAC or other contracting program. Examples include COMMITS, ITOPS, SEWP. For IDV records only. | varchar(25) | 98.31 | All |
Section: Vendor Information
This section shows basic information about the contractor/vendor for an award or IDV, such as its name, address, parent, and contact information.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Best Vendor Name | The best vendor name chosen from six possible name fields by a program run by fedspending.org (this eliminates some blank names). | varchar(250) | 0.00 | All |
| Vendor Name | The name of the vendor supplying the product or service as it appears in CCR or as entered by the user if CCR exception is selected. | varchar(250) | 0.01 | All |
| Vendor Alternate Name | An alternate name for the vendor. | varchar(255) | 73.73 | All |
| Vendor Legal Organization Name | The legal organizational name of the vendor. | varchar(120) | 62.34 | All |
| Vendor Doing Business As Name | The doing as business name of the contractor address. | varchar(100) | 89.02 | All |
| Best Vendor Name Type | A code showing which of the six name fields provided the best vendor name for this record. | char(1) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Division Name | The division name for the division of the vendor contracted. Usually taken from the CCR (Central Contractor Registry). | varchar(60) | 100.00 | All |
| Division Number or Office Code | Unknown meaning. | varchar(60) | 100.00 | All |
| Vendor Enabled | Not known. | char(1) | 100.00 | Complete only |
| Vendor Location Disable Flag | Unknown meaning. | char(1) | 100.00 | Complete only |
| CCR Exception | Indicates and gives the reason why a vendor/contractor not registered in the mandated Central Contractor Registry (CCR) system may be used in a purchase. Data field only exists in XML schema version 1.1 and later. | char(1) | 99.43 | All |
| Vendor Address Line 1 | The first line of the street address for the contractor. | varchar(100) | 0.17 | All |
| Vendor Address Line 2 | The second line of the street address for the contractor. | varchar(55) | 97.86 | All |
| Vendor Address Line 3 | The third line of the street address for the contractor. | varchar(55) | 99.99 | All |
| Vendor Address City | The city of the contractor address. | varchar(35) | 0.10 | All |
| Vendor Address State | The 2-character postal state abbreviation in the contractor address. | char(2) | 2.87 | All |
| Vendor Address State (Long) | A long version of the state in the contractor address. May contain some bad data. | varchar(50) | 2.13 | Complete only |
| Vendor Zip Code | The zip code in the contractor address. | varchar(50) | 1.08 | All |
| Vendor Country | The country code in the contractor address -- a three-letter abbreviation rather than the FIPS country code. | char(3) | 0.84 | All |
| Vendor Congressional District (Modified) | The Congressional District that the vendor's address falls within, in the form of a two-letter state abbreviation plus a two-digit number, as modified by fedspending.org. | varchar(4) | 0.88 | All |
| Vendor Congressional District | The Congressional district of the contractor, as derived from the Zip+4 in the contractor address. | char(2) | 7.79 | Complete only |
| Vendor Site Code | Unknown meaning. Apparently not FIPS codes. | varchar(15) | 30.76 | All |
| Vendor Alternate Site Code | Unknown meaning. Apparently not FIPS codes. | varchar(20) | 33.75 | All |
| Vendor DUNS Number | The Dun & Bradstreet number of the vendor. This is used to link records to the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) and only exists for vendors in the CCR. | varchar(13) | 0.01 | All |
| Vendor Duns | The 9-digit Dun and Bradstreet identifying number for the vendor. | varchar(9) | 0.01 | Complete only |
| Vendor Phone Number | The phone number of the contractor. | varchar(100) | 82.93 | All |
| Vendor Fax Number | The fax number of the contractor. | varchar(50) | 82.96 | All |
| CCR Registration Date (Character) | The registration date in character rather than date format. Includes invalid dates. | varchar(22) | 54.82 | Complete only |
| CCR Registration Date | Date the initial registration for the contractor was submitted to the CCR (Central Contractor Registry). | date | 54.82 | All |
| CCR Renewal Date (Character) | The CCR renewal date in character rather than date format. Includes invalid dates. | varchar(22) | 44.99 | Complete only |
| CCR Renewal Date | Date the contractor's registration in the CCR (Central Contractor Registry) will expire. | date | 44.99 | All |
| Parent Name | The name of the parent company of the vendor, as reported in this transaction record. | varchar(112) | 0.00 | All |
| Changed Parent Name | The parent name of the vendor, change by fedspending.org to regularize cases in which the record had a generic name or duns. | varchar(250) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Best Parent Name | The most commonly used parent name among all of the records with the same parent Dun and Bradstreet number and fiscal year as this one. Vendor duns was used if parent duns didn't exist. | varchar(250) | 12.11 | All |
| Parent ID | A unique ID assigned by fedspending.org to each parent company, so that records can be grouped by parent company. Defined by parent duns and fiscal year, or by vendor duns and fiscal year if parent duns doesn't exist. | bigint(20) | 0.00 | All |
| Parent Duns (13 digit) | The 13-digit parent Dun and Bradstreet identifying number for the parent company of the vendor. | varchar(13) | 0.00 | All |
| Parent Duns | The 9-digit parent Dun and Bradstreet identifying number for the parent company of the vendor. | varchar(9) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Combined Duns | The 9-digit Dun and Bradstreet identifying number for the parent of the vendor, if that number is in the database, or the vendor duns number otherwise. | varchar(9) | 12.11 | All |
Section: Principal Place of Performance
This section shows the principal place of performance of the award or IDV -- the place where most of the work was done.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Place of Performance Code | The code from the combined FIPS Pub. 10 and FIPS Pub. 55 that identifies the place where the work is being performed. | varchar(5) | 33.41 | All |
| Place of Performance State | The 2-character postal abbreviation for the U.S. state that is the principal place where the work was / is performed. | char(2) | 10.00 | All |
| Place of Performance State (Original) | A version of the place of performance state that seems to not have been quality controlled, and may have some bad data. | char(2) | 10.00 | Complete only |
| Place of Performance Country | The country that is the principal place where the work was / is performed. | char(2) | 5.10 | All |
| Place of Performance Zip Code | The Zip code of the principal place where the work was / is performed. Data field exists only in XML schema version 1.2 and later. | varchar(10) | 23.63 | All |
| Place Congressional District (Modified) | The Congressional District which was the primary place of performance for the contract (i.e. where the work took place) expressed as a two-letter state abbreviation plus a two-digit number, as modified by fedspending.org. | varchar(4) | 4.37 | All |
| Place of Performance Cong. District | The Congressional district that is the principal place in which the work was / is performed. | char(2) | 24.38 | Complete only |
Section: Product or Service Information
This section shows information about the product or service purchased.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Major Product or Service Code | The major category that the FPDS Product or Service Code for the record falls within. Data field created by fedspending.org. | char(2) | 0.70 | All |
| Product or Service Code | The code that best identifies the product or service procured. If more than one code applies, then the code that represents most of the ultimate contract value is reported. | varchar(4) | 0.99 | All |
| DoD Program, System, or Equipment Code | Two codes that identify the program and weapons system or equipment purchased by a DoD agency. The first character is a number 1-4 that identifies the DoD component. The last 3 characters identify that component's program, system, or equipment. | varchar(4) | 61.29 | All |
| DoD Claimant Program Code | A claimant program number designates a grouping of supplies, construction, or other services. This data field may have a code from the DoD Procurement Coding Manual Section III, DoD Claimant Program Number. | char(3) | 60.02 | All |
| Principal NAICS Code | The principal North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code (used to designate major sectors of the economies of Mexico, Canada, and the United States) that indicates the industry in which the contractor does business. | varchar(6) | 25.21 | All |
| Information Technology Commercial Item Category | A code that designates the commercial availability of an information technology product or service. | char(1) | 70.80 | All |
| Govt. Furnished Equipment or Property | Indicates whether Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) or Government Furnished Property (GFP) used for the contract, pursuant to FAR 45. | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| Use of EPA Designated Products | Indicates whether EPA approved products with a minimum recovered material content were used, or whether an exception was made. | char(1) | 20.19 | All |
| Recovered Material Clauses | Indicates whether Recovered Material Certification and/or Estimate of Percentage of Recovered Material Content for EPA-Designated Products clauses were included in the contract. | char(1) | 56.72 | All |
| Sea Transportation | Indicates whether the contractor anticipates that some of the supplies may be transported by sea. | char(2) | 0.00 | All |
| Contract Bundling Reason | Indicates that the value of the contract, including all options, is expected to exceed $5M as a result of consolidating separate small contracts into a single contract likely to be unsuitable for a small business concern, and the reason for bundling. | char(1) | 34.21 | All |
| Consolidated Contract | Indicates whether the contract is a consolidated contract. This is only required if the Funding Agency or the contracting agency is a DoD Agency. Data field exists in XML schema version 1.2 and later only. | char(1) | 0.20 | All |
| Product Country of Origin | Identifies the country of origin of the product. | char(2) | 39.10 | All |
| U.S. Contract | When product has substantial foreign components or services are performed by foreign entities, this field indicates whether the contract is still technically a U.S. contract. | char(1) | 65.65 | All |
Section: Record Information
This section shows information about a FPDS award record, such as its identifying IDs, its fiscal year, its version, etc.
This section is displayed in All detail reports.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Identifying Agency ID | This is a code for a governmental agency, but it does not necessarily represent the agency that issued the contract. Instead, it serves only as part of the unique identification for FPDS awards records. | varchar(4) | 0.00 | All |
| Procurement Instrument ID | A unique ID for each contract, agreement, or order. It is not a unique ID for FPDS records, since there can be more than one record for each contract, agreement, or order. | varchar(50) | 0.00 | All |
| Modification Number | An identifier that uniquely identifies a modification for a contract, agreement, or order. | varchar(25) | 0.00 | All |
| Transaction Number | Unique identifier for each transaction for a contracting action or modification. There can be more than one in situations such as when an action includes more than one contract type. | smallint(6) | 98.57 | All |
| IDV Identifying Agency ID | This is a code for a governmental agency, but it does not necessarily represent the agency that issued the contract. Instead, it serves only as part of the unique identification for FPDS IDV records. | varchar(4) | 38.75 | All |
| IDV Procurement Instrument ID | A unique ID for each contract, agreement, or order. It is not a unique ID for FPDS IDV records, since there can be more than one record for each contract, agreement, or order. | varchar(50) | 38.75 | All |
| IDV Modification Number | An identifier that uniquely identifies a modification for a contract, agreement, or order for IDV records. | varchar(25) | 38.75 | All |
| Solicitation ID | Identifier used to link transactions to solicitation information. | varchar(25) | 91.36 | All |
| Unique Transaction ID | A unique ID for each transaction record. | varchar(32) | 0.00 | All |
| Transaction Status | The status of the record, either active or inactive. | varchar(10) | 0.00 | Complete only |
Section: Competition Information
This section shows information on how an award or IDV was competed.
This section is displayed in All detail reports.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Competition Category | The Extent Competed field, with code values regrouped into broader categories by fedspending.org. Indicates whether the contract was competed or not. | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| Extent Competed | A code that represents how the contract was competed. | char(3) | 13.72 | All |
| Reason Not Competed | A code for the reason the contract was not competed -- i.e., solicitation procedures other than full and open competition pursuant to FAR 6.3. | char(3) | 82.03 | All |
| Number of Offers Received | The number of actual offers/bids received in response to the solicitation. | int(11) | 9.90 | All |
| Commercial Item Acquisition Procedures | Indicates whether the solicitation used the special requirements for the acquisition of commercial items intended to more closely resemble those customarily used in the commercial marketplace as defined by FAR Part 12. | char(1) | 0.05 | All |
| Commercial Item Test Program | Indicates whether the solicitation used Commercial Item Acquisition Procedures (FAR Part 12) and Simplified Acquisition Procedures (FAR Part 13.5) for acquisitions above the Simplified Acquisition Threshold and below $5,000,000. | varchar(4) | 0.08 | All |
| Small Business Compet. Demonstration Program | Indicates whether the contract was awarded to a U.S. business concern as a result of a solicitation issued on or after Jan 1, 1989 as part of the Small Business Competitiveness Program (FAR Part 19.10). | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| A-76 (FAIR Act) Action | Indicates whether the contract action resulted from an A-76/Fair Act competitive sourcing process. | char(1) | 0.45 | All |
| Competitive Procedures | Data fields not extensively used in production and since disused, do not display. | char(3) | 92.39 | Complete only |
| Solicitation Procedures | A code for the type of solicitation procedures used. Data field exists only in XML schema version 1.2 and later. | varchar(4) | 6.01 | All |
| Type of Set Aside | A code for the type of set aside determined for the contract action. Data field exists only in XML schema version 1.2 and later. | varchar(7) | 7.23 | All |
| Evaluated Preference | The type of preference determined for the contract action, reported when a contract was made pursuant to the socio economic program price evaluation preferences -- FAR 19.11 and FAR 19.13. Data field exists only in XML schema version 1.2 and later. | varchar(4) | 9.12 | All |
| Type of Research | A code used when the contract was awarded as part of a Small Business Innovation Research or Small Technology Transfer Research Program. Data field exists only in XML schema version 1.2 and later. | char(3) | 99.75 | All |
| Statutory Exception To Fair Opportunity | A code indicating a statutory exception to Fair Opportunity, used awarding a non competitive task order or delivery order exceeding $2500.00 against an IDIQ contract. Data field exists only in XML schema version 1.2 and later. | varchar(4) | 92.04 | All |
| Business Size Determination | The Contracting Officer's determination of whether the contractor meets the small business size standard for award to a small business for the NAICS code that is applicable to the contract. | char(1) | 0.03 | All |
| Subcontracting Plan | A code for a type of subcontracting plan requirement (FAR Part 19.702). | char(1) | 72.61 | All |
| Price Evaluation Percent Difference | The percent difference between the award price and the lowest priced offer from a responsive, responsible non-HUBZone or non-SDB. | int(11) | 99.97 | All |
| Fed Biz Opps | Indicates whether the agency followed the synopsis requirements for making notices of proposed contract actions in FAR Subpart 5.2. | char(1) | 0.51 | All |
| Local Area Set Aside | Indicates whether emergency response contracts were awarded with preference to local firms through a local area set aside. | varchar(4) | 73.19 | All |
Section: Vendor Characteristics
This section shows characteristics of the contractor or vendor for an award or IDV, such as its size, its type, and a set of flags showing whether it is in various special categories.
This section is displayed in Extended and Complete detail reports.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Organizational Type | The type of organization of the vendor. | varchar(100) | 74.52 | Extended and Complete |
| Number of Employees | The contractor's business size in terms of number of employees. Usually obtained from the CCR (Central Contractor Registry). | int(11) | 25.97 | Extended and Complete |
| Annual Revenue | The contractor's annual gross revenue, taken from an average of the last three years. Usually obtained from the CCR (Central Contractor Registry). | double | 26.16 | Extended and Complete |
| 8A Firm | Indicates whether the vendor is an 8(a) Program Participant Organization. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Hist. Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Firm | Indicates whether the vendor is a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Firm. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Small Disadvantaged Business | Indicates whether the vendor is a Small Disadvantaged Business Organization. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Sheltered Workshop (JWOD Provider) | Indicates whether the vendor is a Sheltered Workshop (JWOD Provider) Organization. | char(1) | 14.79 | Extended and Complete |
| Historically Black College or University | Indicates whether the vendor is a Historically Black College or University. | char(1) | 40.97 | Extended and Complete |
| Educational Institution | Indicates whether the vendor is an Educational Institution. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Woman Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is a Woman Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Veteran Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is a Veteran Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Service Disabled Veteran Owned Firm | Indicates whether the vendor is a Service-Related Disabled Veteran Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Local Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a Local Government Organization. | char(1) | 17.86 | Extended and Complete |
| Minority Institution | Indicates whether the vendor is a Minority Institution. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| American Indian Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is an American Indian Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| State Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a State Government Organization. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Federal Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a Federal Government Organization. | char(1) | 1.66 | Extended and Complete |
| Minority Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is a Minority Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Asian-Pacific American Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is an Asian-Pacific American Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Tribal Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a Tribal Government Organization. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Black American Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is a Black American Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Native American Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is a Native American Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Subcontinent Asian (Asian-Indian) American Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is a Subcontinent Asian (Asian- Indian) American Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Hispanic American Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is a Hispanic American Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Emerging Small Business | Indicates whether the vendor is an Emerging Small Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Hospital | Indicates whether the vendor is a Hospital. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| For Profit Organization | Indicates whether the vendor is a For Profit Organization. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Nonprofit Organization | Indicates whether the vendor is a Nonprofit Organization. | char(1) | 41.80 | Extended and Complete |
| Other Not For Profit Organization | Indicates whether the vendor is an Other Not For Profit Organization. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Foundation | Indicates whether the vendor is a Foundation. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Hispanic Servicing Institution | Indicates whether the vendor is a Hispanic Servicing Institution. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| 1862 Land Grant College | Indicates whether the vendor is a 1862 Land Grant College. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| 1890 Land Grant College | Indicates whether the vendor is a 1890 Land Grant College. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| 1994 Land Grant College | Indicates whether the vendor is a 1994 Land Grant College. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Veterinary College | Indicates whether the vendor is a Veterinary College. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Veterinary Hospital | Indicates whether the vendor is a Veterinary Hospital. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Private University Or College | Indicates whether the vendor is a Private University Or College. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| School Of Forestry | Indicates whether the vendor is a School Of Forestry. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| State Controlled Institution Higher Learning | Indicates whether the vendor is a State Controlled Institution of Higher Learning. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Service Provider | Indicates whether the vendor is a Service Provider. | char(1) | 24.79 | Extended and Complete |
| Receives Contracts | Indicates whether the vendor receives contracts. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Receives Grants | Indicates whether the vendor receives grants. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Receives Contracts And Grants | Indicates whether the vendor receives contracts and grants. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Airport Authority | Indicates whether the vendor is an Airport Authority. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Council Of Governments | Indicates whether the vendor is a Council Of Governments. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Housing Authority (Public or Tribal) | Indicates whether the vendor is a Public or Tribal Housing Authority. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Interstate Entity | Indicates whether the vendor is a Interstate Entity. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Planning Commission | Indicates whether the vendor is a Planning Commission. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Port Authority | Indicates whether the vendor is a Port Authority. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Transit Authority | Indicates whether the vendor is a Transit Authority. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Subchapter S Corporation | Indicates whether the vendor is a Subchapter S Corporation. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Limited Liability Corporation | Indicates whether the vendor is a Limited Liability Corporation. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Foreign Owned And Located | Indicates whether the vendor is foreign owned and located. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Architecture Or Engineering | Indicates whether the vendor is an Architecture or Engineering Firm. | char(1) | 24.79 | Extended and Complete |
| DoT Certified Disadvantaged Business | Indicates whether the vendor is a DoT Certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| City Local Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a city government. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Community Develop Corp Owned Firm | Indicates whether the vendor is a Community Developed Corp Owned Firm. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Community Development Corporation | Indicates whether the vendor is a Community Development Corporation. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Construction Firm | Indicates whether the vendor is a construction firm. | char(1) | 24.79 | Extended and Complete |
| Manufacturer Of Goods | Indicates whether the vendor is a manufacturer of goods. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Corporate Entity Not Tax Exempt | Indicates whether the vendor is a Corporate Entity Not Tax Exempt. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| County Local Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a county government. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Domestic Shelter | Indicates whether the vendor is a Domestic Shelter. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Federal Agency | Indicates whether the vendor is a Federal Agency. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Federally Funded Research And Devel Corp | Indicates whether the vendor is a federally funded research and developmet corp. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Foreign Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a foreign government. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Indian Tribe (Federally Recognized) | Indicates whether the vendor is a Federally recognized Indian Tribe. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Inter Municipal Local Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a inter-municipal local government. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| International Organization | Indicates whether the vendor is a international organization. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Labor Surplus Area Firm | Indicates whether the vendor is a Labor Surplus Area Firm. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Local Government Owned | Indicates whether the vendor is local government owned. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Municipality Local Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a municipality. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Native Hawaiian Owned Firm | Indicates whether the vendor is a Native Hawaiian Owned Firm. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Other Business Or Organization | Indicates whether the vendor is an other business or organization (not in the other categories). | char(1) | 24.79 | Extended and Complete |
| Other Minority Owned Business | Indicates whether the vendor is an Other Minority Owned Business. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Partnership Or Limited Liability Partnership | Indicates whether the vendor is a partnership or limited liability partnership. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| School District Local Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a school district. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Small Agricultural Cooperative | Indicates whether the vendor is a Small Agricultural Cooperative. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Sole Proprietorship | Indicates whether the vendor is a Sole Proprietorship. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Township Local Government | Indicates whether the vendor is a township. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Tribally Owned Firm | Indicates whether the vendor is a Tribally Owned Firm. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Tribal College | Indicates whether the vendor is a Tribal College. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Alaskan Native Owned Firm | Indicates whether the vendor is a Alaskan Native Owned Firm. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Corporate Entity Tax Exempt | Indicates whether the vendor is a tax exempt corporate entity. | char(1) | 0.00 | Extended and Complete |
| Interagency Contracting Authority | Indicates whether the vendor is an interagency contracting authority. | char(1) | 17.61 | Extended and Complete |
| Manufacturing Organization Type | Code field with unknown meanings about the type of manufacturing organization that the vendor is. | char(1) | 89.76 | Extended and Complete |
Section: Legislative Mandates
This section shows whether various legislative mandates apply to the award or IDV.
This section is displayed in Extended and Complete detail reports.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Walsh-Healy Act | Indicates whether the transaction is subject to the Walsh-Healy Act (designed to prevent "bid brokering"). | char(1) | 0.01 | Extended and Complete |
| Service Contract Act | Indicates whether the transaction is subject to the Service Contract Act (concerning payment of prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits to service employees). | char(1) | 0.02 | Extended and Complete |
| Davis-Bacon Act | Indicates whether the transaction is subject to the Davis-Bacon Act (concerning the payment of prevailing wages on public works projects). | char(1) | 0.01 | Extended and Complete |
| Clinger-Cohen Act | Indicates the funding office has certified that the information technology purchase meets the planning requirements in 40 USC 1422 and 1423. | char(1) | 0.02 | Extended and Complete |
| Other Statutory Authority | Indicates whether the transaction is subject to other statutory authority (i.e., legislation other than the Economy Act). | text | 100.00 | Extended and Complete |
Federal Assistance Data Dictionary
This is a list of all of the data fields in FedSpending.org's copy of the FAADS (federal assistance) database. It can be used to see what kind of data each field displayed in the extensive or complete levels of detail contains. The "Field Type" column provides the type and size of the field, in case you wish to load FedSpending.org data into your own database. The "% blank" column shows what percentage of the data records have the data field blank -- this can be useful when you want to estimate whether a particular data element is well maintained or not.
Section: Recipient Information
This section shows information about the recipient of the award, such as the name, location, and type of the recipient.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Best Recipient Name | The most commonly listed name of the recipient within a group of records linked by D&B number (or name and state) within a fiscal year. Field created by Fedspending.org. | varchar(45) | 0.00 | |
| Recipient Name | The name of the recipient of the award. | varchar(45) | 0.00 | |
| Recipient Address 1 | The first line of the street address of the recipient. | varchar(100) | 53.00 | |
| Recipient Address 2 | The second line of the street address of the recipient. | varchar(100) | 93.97 | |
| Recipient Address 3 | The third line of the street address of the recipient. | varchar(100) | 98.48 | |
| Recipient City Code | The five-digit FIPS city code for the city in the address of the recipient of the award. | varchar(5) | 30.34 | Complete only |
| Recipient City Name | The city in which the address of the recipient of the award is located. | varchar(21) | 30.34 | |
| Recipient State | The 2-letter U.S. state abbreviation for the state in the address of the recipient of the award. | char(2) | 0.00 | |
| Recipient County Code | The three-digit FIPS county code for the county in which the address for the recipient of the award is located. | char(3) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Recipient County Name | The county in which the address for the recipient of the award is located. | varchar(21) | 0.00 | |
| Recipient Zip Code | The Zip code in the address of the recipient of the award. | varchar(9) | 31.66 | |
| Recipient Congressional District | The Congressional District of the recipient, modified by fedspending.org to fix some bad data and to use a 2-letter state followed by 2 digit format. 90 means not known, 00 means at large or statewide, 98 means nonvoting, 99 means no representative. | varchar(4) | 0.00 | |
| Recipient Cong. District (Original) | The Congressional District of the recipient, as originally reported by Usaspending.gov before having bad codes regularized by Fedspending.org. | varchar(4) | 0.63 | Complete only |
| Recipient Country Code | The ISO or FIPS code for the country in which the recipient is located. | char(3) | 56.37 | |
| Recipient Category | The original FAADS recipient type code, modified by Usaspending.gov into a set of broader categories (government, individual, nonprofit, for profit, higher ed, other). | char(1) | 0.00 | |
| Recipient Category (Original) | The Recipient Category as reported by Usaspending.gov before a few bad records were corrected by Fedspending.org. | char(1) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Recipient Type | The type of recipient (i.e., state government, local government, Indian tribe, individual, small business, for-profit, nonprofit, etc.) | char(2) | 0.00 | |
| Dun and Bradstreet Number | The Dun and Bradstreet ID number listed for the recipient. | varchar(9) | 59.14 | |
| Extended Dun and Bradstreet Number | The extended (13 digit, rather than 9 digit) Dun and Bradstreet number for the recipient. | varchar(13) | 59.14 | Complete only |
| Dun and Bradstreet Confidence Code | A confidence code for the recipient Dun and Bradstreet number. | char(2) | 81.16 | Complete only |
Section: Project and Award Info
This section shows information about which agency granted the award under what governmental program, and provides some ID numbers for the award.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Major Agency | The original FAADS agency code, modified by fedspending.org to show the major agency giving out the award. Major agencies are generally departments of the government. All minor agencies are listed within a general category. | char(2) | 0.00 | |
| Agency Code | A code indicating which governmental agency or bureau provided the award. | varchar(4) | 0.00 | |
| Agency Name | The name of the governmental agency or bureau that provided the award. | varchar(72) | 0.00 | |
| Federal Award ID | An agency-specific unique ID number for each individual assistance award. There may be more than one action record per assistance award, because of continuations, revisions, funding adjustments, corrections, etc. | varchar(16) | 25.89 | |
| Federal Award ID Modification | A modification number used to indicate action records that modify a previous action record with the same Federal Award ID. | varchar(4) | 85.89 | |
| State Application ID Number | A number assigned by state (as opposed to Federal) review agencies to the award during the grant application process. | varchar(20) | 30.36 | |
| CFDA Program Number | The numeric code that indicates the program under which this award was funded within the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). Numbers that contain AAA, AAB etc. are pseudo-codes and are not in CFDA. | varchar(7) | 0.00 | |
| CFDA Program Title | The title of the program under which the award was funded, taken from the Catalog of Federal Domestic ASsistance (CFDA). | varchar(74) | 0.00 | |
| Assistance Category | The original FAADS assistance type code, modified by fedspending.org into a set of broader categories (direct grants, loans, insurance, etc.) | char(1) | 0.00 | |
| Assistance Type | The type of assistance provided by the award: whether it is a grant, cooperative agreement, direct payment, loan, insurance, etc. | char(2) | 0.00 | |
| Project Description | A description of the project under which the award is funded. | varchar(149) | 16.59 | |
| Account Title | The description of the Program Source. | varchar(64) | 51.68 | |
| Recovery Flag | Indicates whether this record is for a project associated with the Recovery Act. | char(1) | 56.63 | |
| Program Source Agency Code | The agency code part (first 2 characters) of the 9-character Treasury Account Symbol. | char(2) | 50.55 | |
| Program Source Account Code | The account code part (3rd through 6th characters) of the 9-character Treasury Account Symbol. | varchar(4) | 51.10 | |
| Program Source Subaccount Code | The sub-account part (7th through 9th characters) of the 9-character Treasury Account Symbol. | char(3) | 98.07 |
Section: Action
This section shows a detailed action taken under the award -- an amount of money granted or subtracted, the dates involved, the fiscal year, and the type of action.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Fiscal Year | The fiscal year in which the award occured. It may be different from the fiscal year of the award record if the record is a late filing or correction of an amount for a prior fiscal year. Data field added by fedspending.org. | smallint(4) | 0.00 | |
| FYQ Load Field | A field created by Usaspending.gov that originally held the fiscal year and quarter, but now holds a marker for which batch of records each record was loaded in. | varchar(9) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Action Type | The type of action for the record: whether it is a new assistance action, a continuation, a revision, or a funding adjustment. | char(1) | 30.32 | |
| Federal Funding Amount | Amount of Federal government's obligation or contingent liability, in dollars. A negative number represents a decrease in funding. | decimal(13,2) | 1.16 | |
| Non-Federal Funding Amount | Amount of non-Federal funding, in dollars. A negative number represents a decrease in funding. | decimal(13,2) | 88.11 | |
| Total Funding Amount | The total Federal plus non-Federal funding amount in dollars. A negative number represents a decrease in funding. | decimal(14,2) | 0.77 | |
| Loan Face Value | The face value of the direct loan or loan guarantee. | decimal(14,2) | 91.30 | |
| Original Loan Subsidy Cost | The original subsidy cost of the direct loan or load guarantee. | decimal(14,2) | 98.59 | |
| Obligation / Action Date | Obligation or action date for the award. | date | 0.00 | |
| Obligation / Action Date (Original) | Obligation or action date for the award (not converted into date format). | varchar(10) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Starting Date | The starting date for the award. | date | 30.32 | |
| Starting Date (Original) | The starting date for the award (not converted into date format). | varchar(10) | 19.32 | Complete only |
| Ending Date | The ending date for the award. | date | 31.36 | |
| Ending Date (Original) | The ending date for the award (not converted into date format). | varchar(10) | 20.21 | Complete only |
| Record Type | FAADS record type: 1 = county aggregate record, 2 = individual action record | char(1) | 0.00 | |
| Unique Transaction ID | A unique ID assigned by Usaspending.gov to each record in the database. | varchar(32) | 0.00 | |
| Agency Unique ID | An agency assigned identifier that should be unique for each record wtihin an agency. | varchar(70) | 75.34 | Complete only |
| Correction / Late Indicator | Indicates that the action record is either a correction of a record from a previous quarter or a late reported record from a previous quarter. The previous quarter is indicated in the Corrected Fiscal Year / Quarter data field. | char(1) | 98.40 | |
| Corrected Fiscal Year / Quarter | The fiscal year (first four digits) and quarter (fifth digit) of the previous fiscal year and quarter that this record corrects, or which it is a late report for. | varchar(5) | 98.41 |
Section: Principal Place
This section shows the principal place of performance of the activity supported by the award.
This section is displayed in detail reports.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Principal Place Code | A code for the principal place of performance for the award. The first two digits are the state FIPS code, the next five the county FIPS (three digits followed by **) or city FIPS code. 00***** = multi-state, 00FORGN = foreign country. | varchar(7) | 0.00 | |
| Principal Place State | The state or territory name of the principal place of performance for the award. | char(2) | 0.05 | |
| Principal Place State (Long) | A long version of the state or territory name in which the principal place of performance was located. | varchar(25) | 1.63 | Complete only |
| Principal Place County or City | The city or county name of the principal place of performance for the award. | varchar(25) | 0.03 | |
| Principal Place Zip Code | The Zip code of the principal place of performance for the award. | varchar(11) | 53.08 | |
| Principal Place Congressional District | The Congressional District of the principal place of performance, modified by fedspending.org to fix some bad data. 90 means not known, 00 means at large or statewide, 98 means nonvoting, 99 means no representative. | varchar(4) | 0.00 | |
| Principal Place Cong. District (Original) | The principal place of performance Congressional District, as originally reported by Usaspending.gov. | varchar(4) | 1.88 | Complete only |
Recovery Data Dictionary
This is a list of all of the data fields in FedSpending.org's copy of the Recovery database. It can be used to see what kind of data each field displayed in the recipient reports level of detail contains. The "Field Type" column provides the type and size of the field, in case you wish to load FedSpending.org data into your own database. The "% blank" column shows what percentage of the data records have the data field blank -- this can be useful when you want to estimate whether a particular data element is well maintained or not.
Section: Recipient / Vendor Information
This section gives basic information about a prime recipient, sub-recipient, or vendor.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Recipient Name | The name of the recipient (prime recipient, sub-recipient, or vendor) | varchar(100) | 1.84 | All |
| Recipient Type | An indicator for the type of recipient -- P:prime recipient, S:sub-recipient, and PV:Vendor to Prime recipient or SV:Vendor to Sub-recipient. | char(2) | 0.00 | All |
| Recipient Zip Code | The zip code of the recipient (prime recipient, sub-recipient, or vendor) | varchar(10) | 29.44 | All |
| Recipient State (Original) | The postal state abbreviation for the state in the recipient's address. (Can be for prime recipient or sub-recipient). | varchar(20) | 50.29 | Complete only |
| Recipient State | The postal state abbreviation for the state in the recipient's address. (Can be for prime or sub-recipient). Some bad codes have been corrected by OMB Watch. | char(2) | 49.53 | All |
| Original Recipient Congressional District | A numeric designation providing the recipient's congressional district. (For prime recipients and sub-recipients only.) | char(2) | 50.26 | Complete only |
| Recipient Congressional District | The Congressional District that the recipient is located in. This field has been regularized by OMB Watch. | varchar(4) | 50.32 | All |
| Received From | The name of the prime recipient, if the record is for a sub-recipient, or the sub-recipient if the reord is for a sub-recipient vendor. Added by OMB Watch. | varchar(100) | 0.14 | All |
| Prime Recipient DUNS Number | The prime recipient for the award's Dun & Bradstreet number. | varchar(9) | 0.00 | All |
| Sub-recipient DUNS Number | The sub-recipient's Dun & Bradstreet number. | varchar(9) | 38.73 | All |
| Vendor DUNS Number | The Dun & Bradstreet number of the vendor. | varchar(9) | 85.22 | All |
| Recipient Account Number | Recipient's internal account number for the award. The account number of any other identifying number assigned by the recipient to the award. This number is strictly for the use of the recipient and is not required by the awarding Federal agency. | varchar(250) | 91.71 | All |
Section: Basic Award Information
This section gives basic information about the award, such the date of award and various ID numbers.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Calendar Year | The calendar year of the report. | smallint(6) | 0.00 | All |
| Calendar Quarter | The calendar quarter of the report. | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| Award Number | The identifying number assigned by the awarding Federal Agency such as the federal grant number, federal contract number or the federal loan number. For grants and loans, this is assigned by the prime recipient. | varchar(50) | 0.00 | All |
| Order Number | This is an identifying number assigned to the contract. | varchar(50) | 92.91 | All |
| Sub-Award Number | Sub-award number or other identifying number assigned by the recipient entity. For grants and loans, this is assigned by the sub-recipient. | varchar(55) | 38.73 | All |
| CFDA Number | The Catalog of Federal Domestic Number is the number associated with the published description of a Federal Assistance program in the CFDA. (For grants and loans only). | varchar(6) | 10.69 | All |
| Award Type | C = contract, G = grant, L = loan. | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| Award Date (Original Field) | The date when the award was signed. This is the original field, untranslated by OMB Watch into a formatted date. | varchar(30) | 50.26 | Complete only |
| Award Date | The date when the award was signed. Translated by OMB Watch into a common date format. | date | 50.26 | All |
Section: Award and Job Amounts
This section shows the amount awarded, the number of jobs created, and other related quantities.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Award Amount | For Grants: total Federal dollars. For Loans: face value of the loan obligated by the Federal Agency. For Contracts: total amount obligated by the Federal Agency. For Vendors: payment amount. For recipients: the amount of the award or sub-award. | decimal(18,2) | 7.53 | All |
| Local Amount | For primary recipients, the award amount minus the total sub-recipient award amounts. For sub-recipients and vendors, the award amount. Intended to be used to track money spent at places of performance. | decimal(18,2) | 8.19 | Complete only |
| Amount Retained | The dollar amount of the award retained by the recipient or vendor. For prime vendors, equals award amount minus sub-granted amount minus vendor payments. For subs, equals sub-granted amount minus vendor payments. Added by OMB Watch. | decimal(18,2) | 9.47 | All |
| Total Sub-recipient Award Amount | The total amount of awards to all sub-recipients of a prime recipient. Field added by OMB Watch. | decimal(18,2) | 96.51 | All |
| Total Vendor Amount | The total amount of payments to all vendors (both prime and sub) for a prime recipient. Field added by OMB Watch. | decimal(18,2) | 92.49 | All |
| Number of FTEs | The number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs created and retained. | decimal(7,2) | 93.70 | All |
| Total ARRA Funds Received | For Grants and Loans: The amount of Recovery Act funds received through draw-down, reimbursement or invoice. For Federally Awarded Contracts: The amount of Recovery Act funds invoiced by the federal contractor (cumulative). | decimal(18,2) | 82.54 | All |
| Total ARRA Funds Expended | Amount of recovery funds received that were expended to projects or activities ("Federal Share of Expenditures"). The cumulative total for the amount of Federal fund expenditures. For grants and loans only. | decimal(18,2) | 63.07 | All |
| Total ARRA Infrastructure Expenses | Total Federal ARRA infrastructure expenditure. For grants and loans only. | decimal(18,2) | 96.38 | All |
| Number of Sub-awards Less Than $25,000 | The total number of sub-awards of less than $25,000. For prime recipients only. | bigint(20) | 98.07 | All |
| Dollars of Sub-awards Less Than $25,000 | The total dollar amount of sub-awards less than $25,000. For prime recipients only. | decimal(18,2) | 98.10 | All |
| Number of Sub-awards to Individuals | The total number of sub-awards to individuals. For prime recipients only. | bigint(20) | 98.78 | All |
| Dollars of Sub-awards to Individuals | The total dollar amount of sub-awards to individuals. For prime recipients only. | decimal(18,2) | 98.79 | All |
| Number of Vendor Payments Less Than $25,000 | The total number of payments to vendors of less than $25,000. For prime recipients only. | bigint(20) | 94.53 | All |
| Dollars of Vendor Payments Less Than $25,000 | The total dollars of payments to vendors of less than $25,000. For prime recpients only. | decimal(18,2) | 94.52 | All |
Section: Funding Source
This section gives information about the funding source of the award -- the governmental agency or agencies involved.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Major Funding Agency | The major agency that funded that award. Field added by OMB Watch. | char(2) | 0.00 | All |
| Funding Agency Code | A numeric code for the Federal Agency that is responsible for funding/distributing the ARRA funds to recipients. | varchar(4) | 0.23 | All |
| Funding Agency Name | The Federal Agency name corresponding to the Federal Agency Code used. | varchar(100) | 0.23 | Complete only |
| Major Awarding Agency | The major agency that awarded and is administering the grant. Field added by OMB Watch. | char(2) | 0.00 | All |
| Awarding Agency Code | Numeric code for the agency that awarded and is administering the award on behalf of the funding agency. | varchar(4) | 0.23 | All |
| Awarding Agency Name | The Federal Agency Name corresponding to the Awarding agency code used. | varchar(100) | 0.23 | Complete only |
| Program Source (TAS) | The Agency Treasury Account Symbol (TAS) that identifies the funding Program Source. The Program Source is based out of the OMB TAS list. | varchar(7) | 0.23 | All |
| TAS Sub-account | The TAS (Treasury Account Symbol identifying the funding program source) subaccount code related to the agency. This is an optional field. | char(3) | 98.15 | All |
| Contracting Office Code | The agency supplied code of the government contracting office that executed the transaction. For prime recipients only. | varchar(6) | 94.80 | All |
| Contracting Office Name | The name of the government contracting office that executed the transaction. For prime recipients only. | varchar(250) | 100.00 | All |
Section: Project and Award Description
This section provides a description of the project and the various activities undertaken under the award.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Project Name | The brief descriptive title of the project or activity funded in whole or in part with Recovery Act funds. Applies only to grants and loans. | varchar(255) | 82.22 | All |
| Award Description | For Contracts: The description of the overall purpose and expected outcomes, or results of the contract funded by the Recovery Act. For Grants and Loans: Award title and description with purpose of each funding action if any. | text | 98.60 | All |
| Project Description | For grants and loans, a description of the overall purpose and expected outputs and outcomes or results of the award and first-tier subaward(s). For contracts, a description of all significant services performed / supplies delivered. | text | 99.56 | All |
| Project Status | Evaluation of the completion status of the project, activity or contract. 1: not started, 2: less than 50% completed, 3: completed 50% or more, 4: Fully completed. | varchar(25) | 0.23 | All |
| Job Creation Description | A narrative description of the employment impact of the recovery act funded work. | text | 98.97 | All |
| Infrastructure Purpose | Purpose and rationale of funds received for infrastructure investment with funds made available under the Recovery Act. For grants and loans only. | text | 99.10 | All |
| Activity Code | The NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 0.23 | All |
| Project Activity Description | A translation of the first project / activity code. | varchar(250) | 81.37 | All |
| Activity Code 2 | A second NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 67.73 | All |
| Activity Code 3 | A third NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 84.42 | All |
| Activity Code 4 | A fourth NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 88.35 | All |
| Activity Code 5 | A fifth NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 90.41 | All |
| Activity Code 6 | A sixth NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 91.85 | All |
| Activity Code 7 | A seventh NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 92.96 | All |
| Activity Code 8 | An eighth NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 95.28 | All |
| Activity Code 9 | A ninth NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 96.06 | All |
| Activity Code 10 | A tenth NAICS or NTEE-NPC code that describes the projects or activities under the award. | varchar(10) | 97.23 | All |
Section: Place of Performance
This section gives the location of the primary place of performance of work done that was funded by the award.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Place of Performance Street 1 | Primary place of performance first line of street address. | varchar(60) | 24.68 | All |
| Place of Performance Street 2 | Primary place of permformance second line of street address. | varchar(60) | 94.18 | All |
| Place of Performance State | Primary place of performance postal state abbreviation. | char(2) | 0.12 | All |
| Place of Performance Country | Primary place of performance country code. | char(2) | 0.06 | All |
| Place of Performance City | Primary place of performance city. | varchar(35) | 0.06 | All |
| Place of Performance Postal Code | Primary place of performance postal code (Zip code, within U.S.). | varchar(9) | 0.11 | All |
| Original Place of Perf. Congressional District | Primary place of performance Congressional District. | char(2) | 0.08 | Complete only |
| Place of Perf. Congressional District | The Congressional District in which work was performed. This field has been regularized by OMB Watch. | varchar(4) | 0.12 | All |
| Place of Performance Latitude | Latitude (as decimal degrees) of place of performance, as taken from an inferred geo-code. | decimal(14,10) | 50.26 | All |
| Place of Performance Longitude | Longitude (as decimal degrees) of place of performance, as taken from an infered geo-code. | decimal(15,10) | 50.26 | All |
Section: Infrastructure Contact
This section provides contact information for a contact person for infrastructure related to the award.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Infrastructure Contact Name | The name of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | varchar(250) | 95.18 | All |
| Infrastructure Contact Email | The Email address of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | varchar(100) | 95.29 | All |
| Infrastructure Contact Phone | The phone number of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | varchar(20) | 95.28 | All |
| Infrastructure Contact Phone Ext | The phone extension of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | varchar(10) | 99.34 | All |
| Infrastructure Contact Street 1 | The first line in the street address of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | varchar(60) | 95.33 | All |
| Infrastructure Contact Street 2 | The second line in the street address of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | varchar(60) | 99.32 | All |
| Infrastructure Contact Street 3 | The third line in the street address of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | varchar(60) | 99.81 | All |
| Infrastructure Contact City | The city in the address of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | varchar(35) | 95.18 | All |
| Infrastructure Contact State | The postal state abbreviation in the address of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | char(2) | 95.21 | All |
| Infrastructure Contact Postal Code | The postal code (in the U.S., a Zip code) in the address of a contact person for an infrastructure project. For grants and loans only. | varchar(9) | 95.26 | All |
Section: Recipient Officer Compensation
This section provides information about highly compensated officers of a recipient of an award.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| High Compensation Applicability (Yes/No) | Yes indicates that high compensation information needs to be reported. | char(1) | 50.26 | All |
| Recipient Officer 1 | First highly compensated officer of recipient. | varchar(100) | 98.85 | All |
| Recipient Officer 1 Compensation | Total compensation of first highly compensated officer. | decimal(18,2) | 98.89 | All |
| Recipient Officer 2 | Second highly compensated officer of recipient. | varchar(100) | 99.29 | All |
| Recipient Officer 2 Compensation | Total compensation of second highly compensated officer. | decimal(18,2) | 99.32 | All |
| Recipient Officer 3 | Third highly compensated officer of recipient. | varchar(100) | 99.39 | All |
| Recipient Officer 3 Compensation | Total compensation of third highly compensated officer. | decimal(18,2) | 99.42 | All |
| Recipient Officer 4 | Fourth highly compensated officer of recpient. | varchar(100) | 99.46 | All |
| Recipient Officer 4 Compensation | Total compensation of fourth highly compensated officer. | decimal(18,2) | 99.49 | All |
| Recipient Officer 5 | Fifth highly compensated officer of recipient. | varchar(100) | 99.51 | All |
| Recipient Officer 5 Compensation | Total compensation of fifth highly compensated officer. | decimal(18,2) | 99.52 | All |
Section: Recordkeeping Information
This section contains basic recordkeeping information about the award record, such as timestamps, data quality flags, and a flag and justification for late submission.
| Data Field | Description | Field Type | % blank | Level of Detail |
| Award Key | A derived field that uniquely identifies an Award. This field is derived using a distinct combination of the following component fields: Award_type, Prime_DUNS, Award_id and Order_number. | int(11) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Final Report (Yes/No) | Yes indicates that this is the final report and that there will be no further quarterly reports. | char(1) | 81.37 | All |
| Version Flag | This field is used to identify the last record for each versioned_id/non-versioned_id combination to facilitate determining the last record. F indicates current record. H indicates historic. | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| Record Status | Indicates the status of the entry - D:Draft, I:Initial submission, X:Deleted. After the initial submission state, the future states are interpreted by the application using time stamps. X stands for a logical deletion of the record. | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| Active Status | A = active record, I = inactive record. | char(1) | 0.00 | All |
| Agency Reviewed Flag | Yes/No field. Yes would indicate that the agency review has been done in the 22-29 day phase. This flag is used in combination with the correction flag. | char(1) | 50.26 | All |
| Prime Reviewed Flag | Yes/No field. Yes would indicate that the prime recipient review has been done in the 11-21 day phase. This flag is used in combination with the correction flag. | char(1) | 50.26 | All |
| Correction Flag | Yes/No field. Yes would indicate that a correction was initiated. The correction could be by agency or by prime recipient depending on the phase of the reporting process. | char(1) | 50.26 | All |
| Last Update Date | Date of last update of the record. Converted by OMB Watch from timestamp. | date | 0.00 | All |
| Creation Date | Date of creation of record. Converted by OMB Watch from timestamp. | date | 0.00 | All |
| Last Update Timestamp | Date / time stamp of last update for the record. | varchar(30) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Creation Timestamp | Date / time stamp of creation of the record. | varchar(30) | 0.00 | Complete only |
| Input Type | Provides information on the method of submission. | char(2) | 50.26 | Complete only |
| Input Version | Provides information on the version of the method of submssion type. | varchar(4) | 50.26 | Complete only |
| Late Submission Flag | Yes/No field. Yes indicates a late submission. | char(1) | 99.81 | All |
| Late Submission Justification | A justification for a late submission. | text | 100.00 | All |