Basis for Award

In a negotiated procurement, the government is not required to make award to the lowest-priced, technically acceptable offeror unless the RFP specifies that price will be the determinative factor for award. General Servs. Eng’g, Inc., B-245458, Jan. 9, 1992, 92-1 CPD ¶ 44 at 9. Agency officials have broad discretion in determining the manner and extent to which they will make use of technical and price evaluation results. Price/technical tradeoffs may be made; the extent to which one may be sacrificed for the other is governed by the test of rationality and consistency with the established evaluation factors. 

Agencies are discouraged from relying on point scores alone; however, when point scores are reasonable and supported by the record, an agency may use the results of the scoring as indicative of whether evaluated technical superiority is worth the associated cost premium. PCL/Am. Bridge, B-254511.2, Feb. 24, 1994, 94-1 CPD ¶ 142 at 5; see also General Offshore Corp.-Riedel Co., a Joint Venture, B-271144.2, B-271144.3, July 2, 1996, 96-2 CPD ¶ 42 at 8. 

Updated: May 24, 2018