How government tenders are scored, and how to write to the scoring

Public procurement rules require buyers to say in advance how they will judge bids, and then to stick to it. That is a gift. Unlike a private client, a public buyer hands you the marking scheme. Firms that write to it win more often than firms with better products that do not.

The two big models

• Lowest price compliant. Every bid that passes the requirements is ranked on price alone. Common for simple products and short services. Your job is to be compliant and cheap.
• Best value, or most economically advantageous tender. Bids are scored on a mix of quality and price. Most IT services and software tenders use this.

The price-quality split

The price-quality ratio tells you what matters most. A tender weighted 70% quality and 30% price is telling you that a strong technical answer beats a low price. At 40/60, you need to be close to the cheapest.

Price is usually scored relative to the lowest bid. A common formula is: your price score = lowest price ÷ your price × maximum price marks. So a bid 20% above the lowest loses about a sixth of the price marks, not all of them.

Question weights

Quality is split into questions or criteria, each with a weight. A typical IT services tender might look like this:

Criterion	Weight
Understanding of the requirement	10%
Approach and methodology	25%
Team and experience	20%
Relevant case studies	15%
Social value	10%
Price	20%

Spend your effort in proportion. The methodology answer here is worth two and a half times the understanding answer.

Scoring scales

Many buyers publish a scale like this one:

• 0: no answer, or the answer does not address the question.
• 1: poor. Significant gaps or concerns.
• 2: acceptable. Meets the requirement with some gaps.
• 3: good. Meets the requirement fully, with some evidence.
• 4 or 5: excellent. Exceeds the requirement, with strong evidence and added value.

Read the description of the top score and write to it. If a 5 needs "evidence of delivering similar outcomes", give a named client, a number and a result.

How evaluators actually work

Evaluators are often busy public servants scoring many bids against a checklist, sometimes in a panel that has to agree a score. Make their job easy:

• Answer in the order of the question. If it has four parts, use four headings.
• Repeat their words. If they ask about "knowledge transfer", use the phrase "knowledge transfer".
• Lead with the answer, then the evidence.
• Don't make them hunt. Evidence in an appendix they are not told about may never be read, and some buyers only score what is in the answer box.

Pass or fail gates and minimum scores

Some tenders set a minimum quality score, or a minimum on certain questions. Fall below it and your bid is out, however cheap. Look for phrases like "bidders scoring below 2 on any question will be excluded".

Common questions

Can I ask how my bid was scored?

Yes. Most public buyers will give a debrief with your scores and the reasons, and many are required to.

What does best value mean in a government tender?

It means the buyer will weigh quality and price together, using the published criteria, rather than simply choosing the cheapest bid.

Do evaluators see the price when scoring quality?

Often not. Many buyers score quality first, with price kept separate, so the quality score is not influenced by how cheap a bid is.