Basis of Selection

In Canadian federal procurement, the Basis of Selection is the section of a solicitation that explains how bids will be evaluated and how the successful contractor will be selected. It tells a supplier what the buyer will compare, what a bid must contain to stay in the competition, and which result leads to a contract recommendation.

The method varies by solicitation. A basis of selection may call for the lowest evaluated price, the highest combined rating of technical merit and price, or another stated method. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) describes this content in its guidance on bidding on opportunities. The term sits alongside mandatory criteria, point-rated criteria, responsive bid, evaluated price, technical merit and best value.

Where the basis of selection sits in a solicitation

PSPC identifies "Evaluation procedures and basis of selection" as Part 4 of a solicitation document. Solicitation documents normally describe both, and bids are commonly evaluated on technical merit and overall best value as set out in the basis-of-selection section. Read Part 4 before you decide whether to bid, because it defines what a winning bid looks like.

Common bases of selection in federal solicitations

PSPC’s temporary help services program shows how much the method can differ between solicitations. It uses several bases of selection:

• Lowest-priced responsive bid
• "Right-fit"
• Highest combined rating of technical merit and price
• Selection within a stipulated price band

Other solicitations use different labels. One Department of National Defence (DND) solicitation uses the basis "Mandatory Technical Criteria". The name of the method matters less than the rules attached to it, which the solicitation spells out in full.

Two examples from CanadaBuys solicitations

One CanadaBuys solicitation names "Highest Combined Rating of Technical Merit and Price" as its basis of selection. To be responsive, a bid must comply with the solicitation, meet all mandatory criteria and obtain at least 30 technical points. Technical merit is then weighted at 60% and price at 40%, and the bid with the highest combined rating is recommended for contract award.

A DND bid solicitation uses "Basis of Selection – Mandatory Technical Criteria". A bid must meet all mandatory technical evaluation criteria. The responsive bid with the lowest evaluated price is then recommended for award. Here technical merit acts as a pass-or-fail gate and price decides the outcome among the bids that pass.

Documenting the selection decision

PSPC’s assessor guidance for supply arrangements says the basis for selecting the winning bid must accord with the terms and conditions of the bid solicitation. It also requires that a basis-of-selection report be retained. The report documents the evaluation results, so the stated basis of selection is the standard against which the buyer’s decision is recorded.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Treat the basis of selection as the scoring rulebook for your bid. Read it first and confirm that you can satisfy every mandatory requirement, because a bid that misses one is not responsive. Where a technical threshold applies, plan your proposal to clear it. Then price against the formula the solicitation actually uses.

The lowest price does not always win. Under a combined-rating method, a stronger technical response can outweigh a lower price. Under a mandatory-criteria method, price decides only after every mandatory criterion is met. The exact obligation depends on the solicitation, so check the basis of selection on every bid rather than relying on what a previous one required.