FPDS Query Library
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Department Id

Identifier for the department associated with the contracting office agency in an Other Transaction Award record. It is a coded reference value, not a free-text department name, and typically represents the top-level departmental entity for the purchasing organization.

Family: Other Transaction Award
Category: Purchaser Information
Data Type: identifier_or_code
Semantic Type: identifier
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID
Title
Department Id
FPDS Path
OtherTransactionAward/contractDetail/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentID
Description
Identifier for the department associated with the contracting office agency in an Other Transaction Award record. It is a coded reference value, not a free-text department name, and typically represents the top-level departmental entity for the purchasing organization.
Business Meaning
This field supports grouping and filtering awards by federal department, which is essential for portfolio reporting, spend analysis, and comparing contracting activity across departments. It helps analysts attribute obligations to the correct parent organization when evaluating purchasing behavior, agency workload, or compliance patterns.
Example Value
9700
Observed Non-Null Count
38,894

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID
FPDS XML Path
OtherTransactionAward/contractDetail/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentID
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'OtherTransactionAward/contractDetail/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentID' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID'.

Use Cases

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

Common Usage

  • Aggregate awards by department
  • Filter purchases to a specific department
  • Join to department reference tables or code lists

Common Mistakes

  • Interpreting the code as a department name
  • Using it alone without validating the corresponding code set or description

Query Guidance

Use as a coded filter or join key, for example in WHERE clauses for department-specific analysis and in GROUP BY for departmental rollups. If the dataset includes a related description field or lookup table, join to that reference for readable reporting instead of hard-coding assumptions about the numeric value.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID AS department_id
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Top values

SELECT
    content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID AS value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID 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.