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 1.1.1 focuses on the following improvements: 

• Updating the Unique Award Key to use Agency Top-tier rather than Agency Sub-tier to reduce improperly linked awards on USAspending since Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN) is not unique government-wide. This addresses a GAO audit recommendation to improve data quality on USAspending. 
• Governmentwide Treasury Account Symbol Adjusted Trial-Balance System (GTAS) requirements about SF-133 updates for two new United States Standard General Ledger (USSGL) accounts 480210 and 497210 that will be added to the SF-133 in FY26. 
• Migration of subaward reporting from Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) to SAM.gov. 

This update also includes small documentation edits and enhancements. To understand all the changes and specific line-item details, agencies should review the change logs of each document and the 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 (341.07 KB)

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

• Document GSDM Architecture (354.82 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 (6.71 KB)
• Document File A: Appropriation Account data (2.42 KB)
• Document File B: Object Class and Program Activity data (38.3 KB)
• Document File C: Award Financial data (36.47 KB)
• Document Sample File Notes (145.97 KB)

GSDM Documents for Data Analysts

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

• Document RSS File A Diagram (62.28 KB)
• Document RSS File B Diagram (71.66 KB)
• Document RSS File C Diagram (71.32 KB)
• Document RSS File FABS Diagram (65.35 KB)
• Document IDD File D1 Diagram (90.87 KB)
• Document IDD File D2 Diagram (68.66 KB)
• Document IDD File E Diagram (58.54 KB)
• Document IDD File F Diagram (69.15 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)