PRINTER-FRIENDLYTutorials
FedSpending.org contains a great deal of infomation on federal financial awards — including contract, grants, loans, direct payments, insurance and more. The complexity of the data and the numerous functions for searching and reviewing information that FedSpending.org provides can become a bit confusing the first time. To help users get the full potential out of the site, OMB Watch has created the following screencast tutorials to demonstrate how to use the site, get information off the site, conduct simple analysis of the data, and more. Simply click on any of the links below to watch a short video on each subject.
Screencasts
Overview. A quick tour of FedSpending.org, including the home page, navigation system, a typical contractor profile, and condensed and expanded tables. Watch Screencast: Flash / Windows Media (9 minutes)
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act. The key differences between the FedSpending.org database and the OMB database that will be created by the new Coburn-Obama law. Watch Screencast (5 minutes)
Contracts and Competition. How to find information on FedSpending.org about the extent to which federal contract are competed. Watch Screencast (5 minutes)
The Growth of Federal Contracts. Find out how to track the dramatic growth of federal contracts since FY2000, pull table data into Excel spreadsheets, and conduct simple analysis. Watch Screencast (2.5 minutes)
Who Gets Federal Contracts? The top 100 contractors received over half of all federal contract money. See how to conduct simple analysis in Excel of the Top 100 contractor lists provided in FedSpending.org. Watch Screencast (5 minutes)
Growth Fiscal Assistance and Grants to Nonprofits. Using FedSpending.org to examine the growth in federal financial assistance and to look at who receives grants and cooperative agreements (particularly nonprofit organizations). Watch Screencast (7 minutes)
Financial Assistance by Congressional District. How to look up FedSpending.org data by Congressional District, including background on the data and how to adjust your search by sort order and level of detail. Watch Screencast (4 minutes)