We just lost our third federal best value tradeoff in a row, all for IT services under NAICS 541519, and each debrief listed a weakness in a section we thought was strong. For example, our last debrief cited a weakness in our technical approach for a help desk requirement, saying we didn't adequately address staffing surge capacity. We had a whole section on it in the technical volume, with a diagram and a table showing how we would scale up. We thought we made it easy for the evaluators to see our approach. I'm trying to understand what actually happens on an evaluation panel. How do they really score a proposal? Does anyone on the technical evaluation board read every page, and what do they look at first? What makes a page easy to score a strength?
How do evaluators actually score a proposal: does anyone read every page, and what do they look at first?
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No, evaluators do not typically read every page of a proposal in detail, and they usually start by reviewing the compliance matrix against Section L of the RFP. On federal buys, the evaluation process follows FAR Part 15.3, Source Selection. State and local government buys follow their state procurement code and the instructions in the specific portal's vendor guide. We've done enough county and school district work to know they're looking for the same thing: did you follow the instructions.
When we lost out on a county janitorial bid for a new high school, I learned we missed a specific insurance certificate. We had the coverage, but the certificate wasn't formatted exactly as they asked. The county told me they had to reject us because we didn't meet a mandatory requirement. Your debrief mentioned a weakness in your technical approach, so it sounds like the evaluators found your response, but determined it didn't fully satisfy the requirement. It's not about the number of pages, it's about making sure your response directly addresses each requirement in the format requested. A page is easy to score a strength when it clearly and concisely demonstrates how you exceed the requirement, without making the evaluator hunt for the information.