U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Data Element:  OFFICE NAMES AND ACRONYMS

You are invited to read the definitions of terms used in this data standard.

Name
 Office Names and Acronyms
Description
 Official names and acronyms used to identify Service organizations at the following levels: (1) Washington Office-Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Directors, divisions, branches, and first-level (non-regionalized) field offices; and (2) Regional Office-Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director, and Assistant Regional Directors (ARD's) or equivalent. Specific U.S. Department of Interior offices involved in the Service's document work flow process are also included, such as the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks (FW).   
Type
 Character Field
Syntax
 Office name, up to a maximum of  100 characters, including the letters A-Z, punctuation marks, and the forward slash (/) character.

Office acronym, up to a maximum of 20 characters, including the letters A-Z, punctuation marks, and the forward slash (/) character.
Recommended Field Name Office Name:  OFFICE

Office Acronym:  OFFACRO
Values
 The official values to be used for this data element are provided in the Source.
Source
 An ASCII (.txt) file of the values to be used for this data element is available here. An electronic copy of the file is also available in Excel (.xls) format. These source files include office location information, as well as Program Names and Acronyms to show the organizational relationships between the Directorate and various organizations within the Service. These values are current as of February 22, 2001.
Reference(s)

Part 020 FW 2, Organization Standards and Codes, dated June 20, 1995 (Revision in Progress)

Washington Office Organizational Listing

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Organization Chart
Use Instructions
 As of the approval date, this data element will be used in any new automated system, data set, database, or information application, including new Geographic Information System (GIS) data and applications. This data element will also be used in any major modifications to existing systems or versions of these data-related items that identify the office names and acronyms of Service organizations at the following levels: (1) Washington Office - Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Directors, divisions or equivalent, branches, and first-level (non-regionalized) field offices; and (2) Regional Office-Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director, and Assistant Regional Directors (ARD's) or equivalent. If appropriate, this data element may also be used for the purpose of routing and tracking internal mail, correspondence, and official documents in the Service's document work flow process. 

This data standard does not apply to (1) second-level organizations within the Service, which include field stations (i.e., National Wildlife Refuges, National Fish Hatcheries, etc.), field units (e.g., special agent offices and refuge units), and satellites (i.e., designated, but unstaffed, land management units of the National Wildlife Refuge System) that are administered by a field station or field unit; and (2) subordinate organizational components of a Service organization within the Washington or Regional Offices (e.g., sections and units). Refer to the Service data standard for Organization Name to view the identifying names given to Service organizations where personnel are permanently located (i.e., the Washington Office, Regional Offices, field stations, and field units), and designated, but unstaffed, land management units (i.e., satellites).   

To ensure compliance with the  Service Information and Technology Architecture (SITA), Service staff are strongly encouraged to utilize this data element in existing systems, data sets, databases, and information applications. Where existing systems and data-related items are not in compliance, they should be modified to achieve compatibility and implement this data standard.

When appropriate, the office acronym for a Service organization should be used in conjunction with the office name. Office names and acronyms will be handled as separate data fields in any new or modified automated system, and will not be combined in a single data field. Examples of office names and acronyms are the Director (D), Assistant Director-Business Management and Operations (ABMO), Chief-National Wildlife Refuge System (CNWR), Division of Diversity and Civil Rights (DCR), Office of the Regional Director (RD), and Assistant Regional Director (ARD).
Phase
 Adopted
Approval Date
 February 23, 2000
Validation Date
 February 22, 2001
Data Steward
 Margie Nash, Correspondence Control Unit, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Return to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Data Standards Page.
Visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Home Page.

These pages are maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Information Technology Management. Please feel free to contact Barb White with any questions and comments.

Keywords=office, name, program, organization, title, data, standards, elements
Last Modified