FPDS Query Library
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Department Name

Human-readable name of the procuring department associated with the contracting office agency ID in the IDV record. It is the label version of the coded agency reference, used to identify the department at a glance rather than as a normalized key.

Family: IDV
Category: Purchaser Information
Data Type: string
Semantic Type: label
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__IDV__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName
Title
Department Name
FPDS Path
IDV/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentName
Description
Human-readable name of the procuring department associated with the contracting office agency ID in the IDV record. It is the label version of the coded agency reference, used to identify the department at a glance rather than as a normalized key.
Business Meaning
This field helps analysts attribute IDVs to the top-level federal department responsible for the purchasing activity. It is useful for agency-level reporting, spend concentration analysis, and comparing procurement patterns across departments.
Example Value
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
Observed Non-Null Count
5,856,017

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__IDV__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName
FPDS XML Path
IDV/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentName
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'IDV/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentName' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__IDV__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName'.

Use Cases

  • Dictionary lookup and field explanation
  • SQL filtering and grouping
  • Analytical reporting and reusable query building

Common Usage

  • Department-level spend and award counts
  • Agency portfolio or pipeline reporting
  • Grouping procurement activity by parent department

Common Mistakes

  • Using the name as a join key instead of the agency ID
  • Assuming the label is fully standardized across all records and time periods

Query Guidance

Use this field for SELECT display, GROUP BY reporting, and filtering by department name when exact text matches are acceptable. For reliable aggregation, pair it with the agency ID field and consider normalizing case/spacing before comparison.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__IDV__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName AS department_name
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__IDV__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Top values

SELECT
    content__IDV__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName AS value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__IDV__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY value
ORDER BY record_count DESC
LIMIT 25

Each dictionary item includes SQL-ready examples generated alongside the variable metadata, allowing immediate use in FPDS Query for filtering, aggregation, and analysis.