Data Reference Standard on Government of Canada Organization Names and Codes

__Introduction__

This page provides machine-readable reference data and supplementary information in support of the Data Reference Standard on Government of Canada Organization Names and Codes.

The reference data provides a list of values for all Government of Canada (GC) departments, agencies, and other institutions, together referred to as federal organizations. There are several official sources of these names and codes, such as the [Financial Administration Act (FAA)](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/f-11/), [Government-wide Chart of Accounts](https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/3c371e57-d487-49fa-bb0d-352ae8dd6e4e) and [GC Infobase](https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/ems-sgd/edb-bdd/index-eng.html#start). These various sources serve different purposes. However, having multiple ways of describing federal organizations makes it difficult to integrate datasets across government. 

__Purpose__

The reference data provides a standard way to present federal organization names and codes in datasets and to users. This standardization improves interoperability and data quality. 

__Application__

The reference data contains two main fields:

1. GC OrgID – This is a numerical primary key which is independent of existing keys from the Receiver General or Infobase.
2. Harmonized GC Name – This provides up-to-date names using the organization’s applied title when possible and legal title if there is no applied title. This gives data systems a simple list of federal organization titles to present to clients. 

For information on how departments are required to use the GC OrgID and Harmonized GC Name, refer to the Data Reference Standard on GC Organization Names and Codes.

The reference data also contains supplementary information to provide users with further context and to allow them to filter data as needed. This includes information the following:

* ministerial portfolio and relevant schedule of the Financial Administration Act 
* organization status (those that have a status of “t” or “d” are no longer considered active) 
* end date if applicable


There is no requirement for existing systems and policies to be changed to align with the reference data. There are several large existing systems and policies that organize federal organizations in specific ways for financial, reporting or historical purposes. 

A concordance table is available to help users who are not able to incorporate the reference data into their existing systems and policies. The concordance table provides a connection between the GC OrgID and various other codes and names used in other GC systems. It combines several data sources to map values from the primary key to other enterprise lists of department names or numbers. 

__Roles and responsibilities__

_Data reference standard steward_

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs, Federal Identity Program

_Data reference standard custodian_

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Office of the Chief Information Officer, Data and Digital Policy Sector

_Recommended review period_

This standard will be updated frequently, when changes to names or departments are made. 

Find more resources with the keyword “[reference data]( https://search.open.canada.ca/opendata/?keywords_en=reference+data)”


Organization: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat | Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada