Describes how the government will evaluate and compare proposals.
Applicability: Required in all negotiated procurement RFPs.
Key Requirements
Understand relative importance of evaluation factors
Know whether price is a major or minor factor
Understand tradeoff evaluation authority (best value)
Recognize that acceptability is determined before price comparison
Common Issues & Pitfalls
Assuming price is always the primary factor when it's not
Overweighting technical approach when management/team is heavily weighted
Not understanding that proposals must be acceptable before price is evaluated
Missing the fact that some factors are pass/fail thresholds
Contractor Guidance for Your Bid
Every RFP evaluates proposals differently. Read the evaluation factors section (Section M) carefully: which factors are equally weighted? Which are weighted higher? Is there a technical minimum threshold before price is evaluated? Design your entire proposal strategy around these factors. A proposal that overemphasizes the wrong factor wastes opportunity.
Related FAR Clauses
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