Formerly known as the DATA Act Information Model Schema (DAIMS)

Please note that submission dates are published on the Resources Page

For GSDM users, this version 1.2 focuses on the following improvements: 

The GSDM v1.2 Annual Release focuses on making federal spending data more accurate, consistent, and easier for agencies to report. These updates bring financial assistance reporting in line with newer government standards, fill important gaps in how certain actions are recorded, and refresh metadata so it matches what appears in Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). The release also continues the rollout of the Program Activity Reporting Key (PARK) by adding clearer guidance and stronger checks in the Data Broker. Together, these improvements help agencies submit better data and make the information more reliable for everyone who uses it.
 

The key changes for this 2025 release include:

• Updating financial assistance data elements to align with the Grants Data Standards v2.1, in accordance with the GREAT Act and OMB Memorandum M-24-11.
• Revising financial assistance action types to close longstanding gaps and ensure all transaction types—including terminations and financial closeouts—are accurately captured and clearly defined.
• Aligning the Interface Definition Document (IDD) with the FPDS Data Dictionary by incorporating four new Business Type elements and updating metadata such as definitions, domain values, and related FPDS references.
• Advancing implementation of the Program Activity Reporting Key (PARK) by issuing guidance on the Exception Request System (ERS) and strengthening Data Broker validation rules to prevent submission of Program Activity Code (PAC) and Program Activity Name (PAN).
• Ensuring consistency with GTAS validations to promote accuracy and alignment across governmentwide financial reporting processes.
   

This update also includes small documentation edits and enhancements. For more details on all the changes and specific line-item details, agencies should review the change logs of each document linked below:

On this page

• GSDM Technical Architecture
• GSDM Documents for Federal Agency Staff
• GSDM Documents for Data Analysts
• GSDM Documents for users of USAspending.gov
• History of GSDM/DAIMS Releases since 2016

GSDM Technical Architecture

The Governmentwide Spending Data Model (GSDM) is the authoritative source for the terms, definitions, formats, and structures for hundreds of distinct data elements that tell the story of how federal dollars are spent.

GSDM gives federal agencies guidance about what data to report to Treasury, where to get that data, and how to submit it.

To learn more:

• Document GSDM Overview (301.79 KB)

  - What GSDM is, its scope, value, and approach

• Document GSDM Architecture (337.58 KB)

  - The GSDM conceptual model including a visual showing how domains, components, elements, and metadata go together in GSDM.

• Document GSDM Information Flow (113.02 KB)

  - A technical flowchart showing how data comes into, flows through, and is reported out, including how often that happens and where the data come from.

GSDM Documents for Federal Agency Staff

Practices and Procedures

• How to submit, validate, and understand submitting to the Broker

• An Excel spreadsheet that lists data elements, provides metadata, and gives federal agency staff instructions on how to submit content in the appropriate file format.

• An Excel spreadsheet that lists data elements, supporting metadata and explains what financial assistance data elements are pulled from government-wide procurement, sub-award systems, and from the Data Broker (by way of FABS).

• An Excel spreadsheet that documents the business rules the Data Broker uses for field and cross-file validations.

Example files for current Broker submissions - .csv formatted files show the current agency submission file layouts.

• Document FABS: Financial Assistance data (6.79 KB)
• Document File A: Appropriation Account data (8.3 KB)
• Document File B: Object Class and Program Activity data (132.39 KB)
• Document File C: Award Financial data (13.79 MB)
• Document Sample File Notes (148.84 KB)

GSDM Documents for Data Analysts

These PDF files show the data model relationships for RSS and IDD files.

• Document RSS File A Diagram (57.71 KB)
• Document RSS File B Diagram (67.02 KB)
• Document RSS File C Diagram (66.78 KB)
• Document RSS File FABS Diagram (60.77 KB)
• Document IDD File D1 Diagram (86.48 KB)
• Document IDD File D2 Diagram (64.16 KB)
• Document IDD File E Diagram (53.97 KB)
• Document IDD File F Diagram (64.64 KB)

GSDM Documents for users of USAspending.gov

Online Data Dictionary

• A link to the USAspending.gov online data dictionary with a full list of data elements with a definition for each element and some associated metadata.

• An Excel file with a list of data elements, definitions, and supporting metadata showing how submission and outlay data is compiled.

• A PDF file diagram showing the data model for data sources of the USAspending.gov website.

History of GSDM/DAIMS releases since 2016

Each of these zip files contains key GSDM/DAIMS documents (RSS, IDD, sample files, file diagrams, flow diagram, validation rules, architecture document, and architecture overview)