Every tender should include evaluation criteria that will be used to fairly determine which submission is best value for money. This step is crucial to both the integrity of the process and the success of the project. Evaluation criteria are meant to:
- Inform bidders of their eligibility to submit a bid
- Filter out ineligible submissions prior to in-depth evaluation
- Rank bidders based on their compatibility with the project needs
- Reduce risks & ensure compliance
The CPO has produced the following guide to help project managers set evaluation criteria in a structured way. The “Example Criteria” below are not one size fit all. It is the responsibility of the project owner to determine which rated criteria are needed to make a proper assessment and where they fit in the limits by comparison to the guidance.
| Mandatory Criteria | Scoring | Guidance | Example Criteria |
| Eligibility | Pass/Fail | These criteria are your project “Security Blanket”. Vendors that pass this section meet the minimum threshold to provide the deliverables requested. |
|
| Technical | Pass/Fail |
|
|
| Rated Criteria | Weighting | Guidance | Example Criteria |
| Deciders | 35+ | Must have i.e. where you want your vendors to focus their efforts in their submissions. |
|
| Differentiators | 16-34 | Should have i.e. separate the “Ideal” from the “Adequate” suppliers. |
|
| Tie Breakers | 0-15 | Nice to have i.e. a slight advantage to vendors that include positive but non-critical contributions. |
|
| Pre-Conditions of Contract Award* | Scoring (Pass/Fail) | A requirement that will be requested from only the vendor(s) recommend for contract award at the end of the evaluation process. These items need to be included so that potential bidders are aware of them but these are items that are not needed in the mandatory criteria to determine the suitability of a vendor’s submission. |
|
*These items are typically used for due diligence or re-risking purposes and are required to prior to contract signing in order to reduce the level of risk involved in delivering the project that was procured. In low risk procurements, there can be no “Pre-Conditions”. Award Letters to the highest ranked vendor(s) must include the requirement to provide the Pre-Conditions of Contract Award with an appropriate deadline for doing so. Should the vendor not satisfy the conditions, the procuring entity has the option to discontinue the contract award process with the highest ranked vendor and either cancel the procurement or engage the second highest ranked vendor, should there be a suitable alternative.
Related to:
Was this article helpful?
Articles in this section
- Procurement: As a CIG entity, how do I set my project evaluation criteria for the best outcome?
- Procurement: As a CIG Entity, who is required to review my documents at each stage of the procurement process?
- Procurement: As a CIG Entity, how do I get the ability to create a procurement on Bonfire?
- Procurement: As a vendor, how do I communicate with Project Owners?
- Procurement: How do I know if I am eligible to make a submission?
- Procurement: As a vendor, where can I access bidding opportunities?