Within the Best Value award process, is a category called Lowest Price Technically Acceptable awards, or LPTA. This is a form of Best Value, but it’s a bit of a hybrid approach along with the lowest bidder awards we find in sealed bidding.
Under LPTA, the Government places high importance on cost, however there are some complexities or risk areas which drive them to seek a contractor possessing unique skills or experience, even if that offeror isn’t the lowest bidder.
Hence, LPTA is a two-step process. First the Government “screens out” offerors whom they consider to be unqualified for the contract tasks. Once this screening is done, then the second step is the award to the lowest cost “qualified bidder.”
And how is this screening done? Again, in Section M, where the Government explains how they will select a winner, you’ll find the specific criteria they’ll use in determining if you’re a qualified bidder. And this criteria can be anything: Past Performance, Technical Skills, Experience, etc.
Note that this criteria is not scored by an evaluation team on some graduated scale, say from one to ten. Instead, each criteria is pass/fail. Either you meet the criteria or you do not. If you fall short of one, you’re out. Simple as that. Each criteria must be successfully passed. Simply stating you meet the criteria isn’t enough. You’ll need to provide substantiating information to validate your claim.
Since this is the test for whether you move on to the second step, it is absolutely imperative that, not only do you pass each and every criteria, but you must ensure the reader understands this too. Leave no room for doubt. It’s OK to overwhelm the reader with data here. Yes, it’s that important.