Evaluation Grid

An evaluation grid is a structured table that evaluators use to assess bids against the evaluation criteria stated in a solicitation. It normally identifies each criterion, its weighting, the scoring method, the scores given to each bidder and the resulting weighted scores.

The term belongs to public procurement practice generally. The grid is an operational document derived from the solicitation's evaluation criteria, and it helps evaluators apply the same criteria and scoring approach to every bid. In Canada, federal departments and agencies use evaluation grids in requests for proposals, requests for standing offers and calls for proposals.

What an evaluation grid records

A grid lays out the criteria from the solicitation in one place so that evaluators can assess each bid against them in the same way. Depending on the solicitation, it can show the following:

• The evaluation criteria the bid is assessed against.
• The weighting, which is the relative importance given to each criterion.
• The scoring method evaluators apply.
• The score given to each bidder on each criterion.
• The resulting weighted score.

Because the grid records the evaluators' assessments, it also serves as part of the file that supports the selection of the successful bidder.

How federal buyers use evaluation grids

The Office of the Procurement Ombudsman describes the grid as part of the bid-evaluation process in a procurement practice review of the Correctional Service of Canada. That review examined the evaluation grid used by evaluators and compared it with the evaluation criteria in the requests for proposals. It also examined whether bids were evaluated and contracts awarded in line with the planned approach, and whether documentation supported the selection of the successful bidder.

Other federal solicitations show the grid in use:

• A request for standing offers on CanadaBuys assessed offers against the entire requirement, including technical and financial evaluation criteria. It used a phased process of financial evaluation, technical and sample evaluation, and final evaluation. It also referred to a mandatory technical criteria evaluation grid and required offerors to provide documentation showing compliance.
• A Natural Resources Canada request for proposals stated that the evaluation grid would be used to evaluate bidders' proposals against each rated criterion.
• A federal call for proposals told bidders to consult the evaluation grid forming part of the document. The grid was used in proposal evaluation and to determine which proposals qualified for the next stage of a two-step process.

Mandatory and rated criteria in the grid

Most grids separate two kinds of criteria. Mandatory criteria are requirements a bid must satisfy. Rated criteria are assigned points or scores, and the weighting of each criterion determines how much it contributes to the final result. A bid that fails a mandatory criterion can be eliminated, while a response to a rated criterion affects the score and weighted result.

Several related terms sit alongside the grid. Evaluation criteria are the requirements bids are assessed against. The evaluation plan sets out the planned method and process for evaluating bids. The selection method is the way the successful bidder is determined. The grid is the working document that applies these elements to each bid.

What an evaluation grid means for a supplier

Treat the grid as the scoring sheet for your bid. Respond directly to every criterion in the solicitation, in the order and terms used, and provide the evidence or documentation requested in the corresponding grid. Where a criterion is mandatory, show compliance clearly, since failing to do so can end the bid. Where a criterion is point-rated, give enough detail for evaluators to score the response fully, because that response feeds the weighted result.

Read the grid before you start writing, and check your draft against it before you submit. When the solicitation includes the grid, the criteria and scoring approach it sets out are the ones evaluators apply to your bid.