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18F / data-act-pilot

This small DATA Act pilot contains code that translates agency data to a uniform DATA act format.
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research questions: data element definitions #49

Open bsweger opened 9 years ago

bsweger commented 9 years ago

As we work through the mapping/code, SBA has raised some questions about the data element definitions and overall mapping process that will impact mapping and code decisions.

  1. When mapping, what do we mean by source? Source could mean:
    • an external data source that's referenced when data is input into SBA (e.g., SAM, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance)
    • a piece of information obtained from another agency
    • a master lookup table that lives in Prism or JAAMS
    • a value that's stored with system transactional data or is part of an extract already being created for reporting (to USAspending, for example)
  2. Is _funding office_relevant to grants? The current draft definition only references FPDS.
  3. To what extent can agencies leverage data they've already created for USAspending. For example, SBA has a flat table (faadsciv) that contains the grant data currently required by USAspending. Can we use that, or is the idea to get closer to the original data?
  4. In the type of action definition, there's no reference to what the code should be for a new assistance action (in the current USAspending, the value for new action is A).
  5. Unobligated Balance: for SBA, this doesn't apply to grants because give out the entire award amount. However, if the definition refers to a pool of money being spent down slowly, that could classified as an unobligated balance. What if there is a commitment created for $1 million, and SBA obligates $100,000 at a time. All of these data are available but clarification/examples are needed. The main question about the finalized definition is "what's an account?" Is it the TAS?
  6. Amount of other Budgetary Resources: Again, this definition is finalized, but SBA asked for specific examples. They weren't sure if this means allotments, commitments, expense. What about disaster funds? Multi-year? Reimbursements from other agencies that can be used for particular things? How does this field relate to Non Federal Funding Amount which is currently reported to USAspending?
  7. Parent DUNS: this information isn't captured by SBA--they ask their prime contracts for fill out sub info in SSRS (not mandatory/enforced). Is this something that will be enforced going forward?