Procurement glossary · Writing and evaluation
Evaluation criteria and weightings
The published breakdown of what an authority will score and how much each part is worth. It normally splits quality and price, then subdivides quality into questions with individual weightings and a scoring scale. It is published in advance and the authority must evaluate against it, which makes it the most useful document in the pack.
Also called Scoring matrix.
What it means in practice
The weightings tell you where your effort belongs, and they are routinely ignored. A supplier will spend three days on a question worth five per cent because it is the one they find interesting, and a morning on the question worth twenty-five per cent because it is harder.
Work out the marks at stake per question before writing anything, then allocate time in proportion. On a bid with limited hours this single act changes outcomes more than better writing does.
Read the scoring scale as carefully as the weightings. Most scales define what each band requires, and the gap between a three and a four is usually the difference between a described approach and an evidenced one. The scale is telling you exactly what the evaluator needs to see in order to award the higher mark, which is as close to a mark scheme as public procurement gets.
Where a question carries sub-criteria, answer them in the order given and in the proportions given. Evaluators score against a matrix, often question by question, and an answer that buries the sub-criterion they are looking for costs marks even when the content is present.
Where suppliers get caught
Not calculating the marks at stake before allocating writing time. Effort follows interest rather than weighting, and the highest weighted question routinely gets the least attention because it is the hardest to answer. Do the arithmetic first, on a single sheet, before anyone starts drafting.
Common questions
Where do I find the evaluation weightings?
In the tender documents, usually in the instructions to tenderers or a dedicated evaluation section. The authority must publish them in advance and must evaluate against them.
What if the weightings are not clear?
Ask a clarification question inside the clarification window. Ambiguity about how a question will be scored is exactly what that window is for, and after it closes you are interpreting rather than confirming.
Related terms
- Award criteria versus selection criteria
- Clarification questions
- Most advantageous tender (MAT)
- Red team review
If a tender in front of you turns on this, send us the documents and the deadline and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth bidding. Call 020 3668 5488, or read the rest of the UK procurement glossary.