Evaluation and Selecting the Contractor

Evaluation and selecting the contractor is the stage of a procurement in which a buyer assesses the bids or proposals it has received and decides who wins. The assessment is made against the requirements, evaluation criteria and methodology stated in the solicitation. Once the evaluation is complete, the buyer selects the successful contractor or supplier and moves to contract award.

The exact phrase is not a formal title in the sources Publicus relies on. The same activity appears under related names such as source selection, bid evaluation, proposal evaluation, selection methodology and determining the successful bidder. The Government of Canada describes solicitation activities as including evaluating submitted bids or proposals and determining the successful bidder in accordance with the evaluation and selection methodology.

How NATO structures source selection

NATO formalizes this stage through a source-selection plan, also called a technical-evaluation plan. According to NATO's procurement manual, the plan identifies the evaluation factors and sub-factors, their relative importance, the evaluation standards and the selection process. For best-value procurements, the factors, their relative importance and the rating scales must be addressed in that plan.

Offers are then evaluated against the plan and the factors and sub-factors published in the solicitation. Evaluators compare each proposal's strengths, weaknesses, risks and cost or price. The source-selection decision, including the trade-offs made and the rationale for them, must be documented before the contract is awarded.

NATO's competitive procurement procedure adds two requirements. Solicitations must state the criteria and methodology that will be used to evaluate bids or proposals. Evaluation procedures must also be formalized so that they are objective and nondiscriminatory.

Best value and lowest-priced technically acceptable selection

NATO uses two main selection approaches. In a best-value selection, technical merit, risk and cost or price are compared, and the award can go to the responsible bidder whose conforming proposal represents the best value. A NATO request for proposals sets out this basis, with the evaluation made against the solicitation's stated factors and sub-factors.

In a lowest-priced technically acceptable selection, proposals that meet the technical requirements compete mainly on price. A NATO invitation for bid illustrates this approach. The solicitation tells bidders which approach applies, so the basis of selection is known before a bid is prepared.

How Canadian federal acquisition describes the stage

In Canadian federal acquisition, the equivalent activity is expressed through evaluation methodology, bid evaluation, proposal evaluation and selection methodology. The Library and Archives Canada description of acquisition services lists the solicitation activities in sequence:

• soliciting bids from suppliers;
• responding to supplier inquiries;
• evaluating submitted bids and proposals; and
• determining the successful bidder according to the stated evaluation and selection methodology.

The same description lists related activities: evaluating bids, proposals and offers, taking part in technical negotiations, and recommending a supplier for contract award. Evaluation is therefore one step within a wider solicitation and award process, not a separate event.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

The practical obligation falls on the bidder to submit the information the solicitation asks for. NATO's procurement manual states that the solicitation should identify the information bidders must submit for evaluation, and that offers are evaluated using the factors and sub-factors stated in the solicitation. The Canadian description likewise ties the choice of successful bidder to the stated methodology.

For a bid team, this means reading the evaluation criteria and methodology first and building the response around them. Each requirement and each factor should be answered in a form that an evaluator can score. A proposal that leaves out requested information cannot be assessed against the published criteria, however strong the underlying offer is.