award criteria

Award criteria are the rules that determine which supplier wins a tender procedure. These are the criteria the contracting authority uses to choose between the various bids submitted in a public procurement.

How do award criteria work?

When a contracting authority prepares a tender document, they must clearly describe which criteria will be emphasised when selecting a supplier. The most common criteria are:

• Price (what the goods or services cost)
• Quality (how good the solution is)
• Environmental considerations (how the solution impacts the environment)
• Delivery time (when the goods or services can be delivered)
• Expertise (what experience and knowledge the supplier has)

Example of award criteria

Let's say a municipality is purchasing new furniture for the town hall. They might set up the following weighting of criteria:

• Price: 40%
• Quality and functionality: 30%
• Environment and sustainability: 20%
• Delivery time: 10%

This means that even if one supplier has the lowest price, another supplier can win if they score better on the other criteria.

How to use award criteria effectively

To increase your chances of winning tenders, it is important to understand how the contracting authority will evaluate each criterion. Modern tools like Cobrief can help you analyse the requirements specification and award criteria, so you can write a bid that best matches what the contracting authority is looking for.

Award criteria must always have a clear connection to what is being purchased, and they must be objective and measurable. This ensures a fair evaluation of all submitted bids.

A strong understanding of the award criteria is the key to winning more tenders. By focusing on what the contracting authority values most, you can craft a bid that scores highly on the most important criteria and significantly increase your chances of winning the tender procedure.