Evaluation Criteria / Scoring

Evaluation criteria are the factors against which tender submissions are assessed. They must be pre-disclosed in the contract notice or tender documents, and the authority must apply them as published — introducing new criteria or changing weightings after tenders are received is a fundamental procedural breach. Criteria are divided into selection criteria (assessing supplier suitability) and award criteria (assessing the tender itself).

Award criteria under MEAT typically combine technical quality factors — methodology, personnel qualifications, track record, environmental and social value — with financial factors such as price, whole-life cost, or cost breakdown. Each criterion is assigned a percentage weight; sometimes sub-criteria are used within each main criterion. Evaluation panels score individually and moderate to a consensus or averaged score, documented with specific justifications.

For vendors, evaluation criteria are the roadmap for a winning bid. Every scored section should be treated as a separate pitch, with clear evidence mapped to what the evaluator is looking for at each score level (often expressed in an evaluation rubric: insufficient, meets, exceeds). The common mistake is addressing all criteria with equal effort rather than concentrating on the highest-weighted sections. Reviewing past award notices and debrief feedback helps calibrate how a specific authority weights and applies criteria in practice.