Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What does Eagle Eye’s prime contracts database contain?
2. What is an SF-279 or a DD-350 Form?
3. What is a prime contract?
4. What are obligations? What are obligated dollars?
5. Does Eagle Eye track subcontracts?
6. Which agencies report prime contracts data to the General Services Administration?
7. Which government organizations do not report contract data to the GSA?
8. What about Credit Card purchases?
9. What about other small purchases under $25,000 that are not credit card purchases?
10. What about classified contracts?
11. What about the Postal Service?
12. What markets does your database cover?
13. Is your data limited by size of contract?
14. How far back does your data go?

The core contract database used in Eagle Eye’s FPCWeb and CD applications is a greatly enhanced version of the Form DD-350 (defense) and Form 279 (civilian) Individual Contract Action Report (ICAR) prime contracts data collected and compiled by the Federal Procurement Data Center (FPDC), a branch of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The core data elements collected in this database describe various characteristics of contractual obligations made between the federal government and prime contractors. Back

Every time the government makes an obligation on a contract of at least $25,000 a purchasing officer must fill out either a DD-350 form (for defense agencies) or an SF-279 form (for civilian agencies). These forms describe the financial, competitive, statutory and other characteristics of the obligation. Smaller initial obligations can be made on an SF-279 or reported in bulk form on an SF-281.
Over the entire course of a contract’s duration, a purchasing officer might fill out numerous DD-350 or SF-279 forms for a single contract. This is because the dollars contained in a single obligation may not represent the total value of a contract. In fact, there are about 500,000 annual contract obligations in the FPDC database spread over 170,000 - 200,000 contracts. This means there are on average about 2.7 obligations per contract per year. Some small contracts have only one obligation, but some large contracts can have over 100.

Each DD-350 or SF-279 report forms the basis of a separate record in the ICAR contracts database. A purchasing officer will fill out a separate procurement form every time there is an action, that is, a new obligation on the contract or a de-obligation. Each action shows a unique combination of the following data elements: reporting agency, contract number, contract modification number, contracting office order number, contracting office code, action date, and amount of obligation (or de-obligation). Each time a new form is filled out a separate task has been documented. Back

A prime contract is a legally binding agreement between the government and a contractor that commits the government to acquire products or services at an agreed price. Back

Prime contract dollars in Eagle Eye’s database are technically called “obligations.” Obligations are the dollars the agency legally commits to spending to acquire needed goods and services. Dollars can be obligated by agencies only after Congress authorizes an agency’s budget. After money is authorized to be spent and the contracting activity selects a vendor, the contracting agency can obligate funds. Obligated funds are moved funds to a contractor’s account by the federal buying activity responsible for the purchase. These obligated funds are used by contract officers to make payments to the contractor on an agreed payment schedule. Obligations are linked to, but do not necessarily match, contractor progress. Dollars are typically obligated in the year in which they are spent. Back

No, Eagle Eye’s database contains only prime contract information. There is no detailed, systematically disclosed source of subcontract data available from the federal government. Back

Major cabinet-level and independent agencies with appropriations authority report prime contract actions to the GSA. Back

Congress, the Government Accounting Office, the Court System, the Federal Aviation Adminstration, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the U.S. Postal Service, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency. Note: Eagle Eye adds FAA and US Postal Service contracts to its FPC CD Advanced database application to more fully report the extent of contracts being let by the federal government. Back

Credit card purchases are not collected as part of the DD-350 and SF-279 form submissions. Credit card dollars, which totaled about $14 billion in FY 2001, are reported separately to the GSA in highly aggregated totals that make them marginally useful for market research. Back

Non-credit card purchases under $25,000 are not included in any of Eagle Eye’s current database applications. These purchases are collectively known by the government’s Form 281 used to report them. Form 281 data is collected separately to the GSA in highly aggregated totals that are marginally useful for market research. Form 281 purchases totaled $19 billion in FY 2001. Back

Classified contract data is not reported in our database applications in a meaningful way. Some entries are clearly marked “Classified Domestic Contractor” and “Classified Foreign Contractor” in the company field, but information about these contracts has been altered to hide the true nature of the good or services being purchased. Including these classified dollar totals for agency and other aggregations is useful to give a truer picture of agency spending, but these reports are not useful for detailed market research. Back

Eagle Eye includes US Postal Service contracts in a separate database application along with the GSA prime contract information. Searching and reporting functionality in the US Postal Service database is nearly identical to the functionality of the GSA contract database. Click on the US Postal Service folder in the List of Active Views opens up the Postal Service database. Back

Eagle Eye’s database applications cover all Product Service Codes (PSCs) and all North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes applied to the 170,000+ prime contracts issued annually by federal agencies. PSCs represent the government’s traditional market classification system and are also used in such other government publications as FedBizOpps. NAICS codes replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code in FY 2001 and are also used to describe the type of work performed on each contract transaction. Back

Eagle Eye’s data includes contracts valued at least $25,000. There is no upper limit to the value of contracts reported in FPC. Contracts of all sizes are included. Back

Eagle Eye maintains data in-house going back to FY 1984. We publish one- and five-versions of our databases on CD and one- and three-year’s worth of data on the web. FPCWeb Basic covers the most recent four fiscal quarters, while FPC Web covers the two most recent, complete fiscal years plus the current fiscal year-to-date. Back