FPDS Query Library
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Department Name

Human-readable name of the department associated with the contracting office agency ID on the Other Transaction IDV record. This is a label field, not the underlying code, and it identifies the department as reported in FPDS.

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

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__OtherTransactionIDV__contractDetail__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName
Title
Department Name
FPDS Path
OtherTransactionIDV/contractDetail/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentName
Description
Human-readable name of the department associated with the contracting office agency ID on the Other Transaction IDV record. This is a label field, not the underlying code, and it identifies the department as reported in FPDS.
Business Meaning
Useful for grouping awards by department-level procuring activity, comparing OT IDV activity across cabinet-level organizations, and producing readable reports from coded agency data. It helps analysts map records to the responsible federal department when agency IDs are not self-explanatory.
Example Value
DEPT OF DEFENSE
Observed Non-Null Count
13,417

FPDS Compare

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

Use Cases

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

Common Usage

  • Display department names in dashboards and summary tables
  • Group OT IDVs by procuring department
  • Validate agency code-to-name mappings

Common Mistakes

  • Using the label as a join key instead of the coded agency identifier
  • Assuming the text is user-entered free form rather than a standardized description

Query Guidance

Use this field in SELECT and GROUP BY clauses for readable output, but filter and join on the corresponding agency ID when possible. In SQL, normalize or trim values if needed, and compare against distinct observed labels rather than assuming consistent spelling or capitalization.

SQL Examples

Preview values

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

Top values

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