Basis of Selection

When you're responding to a federal solicitation, the Basis of Selection tells you exactly how the government will choose the winner. It's the scoring methodology baked right into the bid documents—lowest price wins, highest technical score, or some combination of the two. Get this wrong, and you might submit a Cadillac proposal when they're buying on price alone.

How It Works

According to the Assessor Guidance for Supply Arrangement Requirements, the selection type must be clearly stated—whether it's lowest evaluated price, lowest evaluated price per point, or another method. This isn't optional language buried in the fine print. It's mandatory, and it drives how evaluators will score your submission.

Here's the thing: different procurement vehicles use different selection approaches. For task-based supply arrangements under PSPC's Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS), you're typically competing against pre-qualified suppliers. The Office of the Procurement Ombudsman's guidance outlines several methods—right of first refusal, proportional allocation, rotational basis, or straight competition. Standing offers might allocate work exclusively to one supplier based on pre-agreed terms, while supply arrangements usually involve competitive selection among qualified vendors.

In practice, you'll see three common patterns. Pure lowest-price competitions where technical requirements are pass/fail and cost determines the winner. Highest combined rating approaches where both technical merit and price factor into a weighted score—say 70% technical, 30% price. And highest-technical-score-meeting-budget scenarios where you need to hit a technical threshold first, then cost becomes the deciding factor only among qualified bidders. PSPC, DND, and Shared Services Canada will specify which method applies, and that shapes your entire bid strategy.

Key Considerations

• The selection methodology determines where you invest your effort. If it's lowest evaluated price and you've met the mandatory technical criteria, gold-plating your proposal wastes resources you should spend sharpening your pricing.

• Task-based supply arrangements give you a minimum of 20 calendar days to respond to Tier 2 solicitations. That's tight. You need to know the basis of selection immediately to allocate your team's time effectively.

• Watch for "lowest evaluated price per point" scenarios—these reward technical strength relative to cost. A slightly higher price with meaningfully better technical scores can beat a cheaper but weaker proposal.

• Pre-qualified vehicles like ProServices or CPSS supply arrangements narrow the field before selection happens. You're competing against suppliers who've already cleared baseline requirements, so the stated basis of selection becomes even more decisive.

Related Terms

Evaluation Criteria, Mandatory Requirements, Rated Requirements, Standing Offer, Supply Arrangement, Lowest Evaluated Price

Sources

• Assessor Guidance for Supply Arrangement Requirements - Public Services and Procurement Canada

• Chapter 5: Methods of Supply Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements - Office of the Procurement Ombudsman

• Government of Canada Supply Manual - Official federal procurement policy and procedures

Read the basis of selection first, before you read anything else in the solicitation. It tells you what winning actually looks like.