Lewis Roca Blog

Technical discriminators, which distinguish one technical proposal from another, frequently determine contract awards in best value procurements conducted by the federal government. Bid protest decisions of the Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims commonly address those discriminators that agencies find significant in evaluating technical proposals. Examples of such technical discriminators include the following:

Quality of Technical Proposal

• Satisfies every agency requirement in statement of work
• Clearly organized
• Complete and detailed explanation of technical approach, including:
  • Staffing
    Implementation
  • Schedule
  • Sequence
  • Testing
  • Tasks
  • Methodology
  • Quality Control
• Substantiates proposed performance
• Demonstrates understanding of new developments in technology/industry
• Identifies solutions to problems with agency’s existing systems/programs

Quality of Products and/or Services

• Use of standard materials
• Use of commercially available components
• Superior product design
• Superior product testing process
• Minimizes environmental impact of work
• Reduces energy consumption
• Tailoring of deliverables to specific agency needs
• Design adaptable to future needs
• Extended support services
• Regular reports to agency on technology/industry trends
• Broader and/or longer warranty
• Additions exceeding agency requirements

Quality of Personnel

• Experience related to proposed work
• Specialized expertise
• Highly qualified subcontractors

Quality of Contract Management

• Plan for retention of incumbent personnel
• Expedited recruitment of necessary employees
• Expedited commencement of work
• Accelerated schedule
• Streamlined workflow
• Coordination of tasks
• Minimized duplication of effort
• Cybersecurity enhancements
• Process for soliciting/addressing customer feedback