As a public procurement professional, one of the most important tasks you'll face is evaluating tender documents. This process is critical to selecting the right supplier and ensuring that your organization gets the best value for its money. However, it's important to note that setting the right evaluation criteria is just as important as the actual evaluation process itself.

When do we set evaluation criteria?

Evaluation criteria are the standards and factors that you use to assess the tenders you receive. These criteria must be established during the planning phase of the procurement process. It's crucial that you take the time to identify the most relevant criteria and ensure they're properly defined and communicated to potential bidders. Failure to do so can result in a flawed evaluation process and ultimately, the selection of a supplier that doesn't meet your organization's needs.

How do we set the evaluation criteria?

So, how do you set your evaluation criteria? The first step is to identify the key factors that will determine the successful delivery of the project. This will typically include quality, cost, and delivery time, but can also include factors such as compliance, sustainability, and innovation. The key is understanding what success looks like to your customer or the user of the good, service or works. Key considerations in setting evaluation criteria are as follows:

1. Relevance: The evaluation criteria should be directly relevant to the goods or services being procured. For example, if you're putting out a tender for a software development project, some relevant criteria might include the vendor's experience with similar projects, their expertise with relevant programming languages, and their ability to deliver the project within the desired timeframe.

2. Importance: You should assign weightings to each evaluation criterion based on its relative importance to the project. For example, if the timeline is critical, you might assign a higher weighting to the vendor's ability to deliver on time.

3. Objectivity: The evaluation criteria should be as objective as possible, so that different evaluators can apply them consistently. Avoid criteria that are subjective or open to interpretation, such as "innovative ideas" or "impressive presentation skills."

4. Measurability: The evaluation criteria should be measurable, so that vendors can provide evidence to support their claims. For example, instead of asking for a vendor's "experience with similar projects," you could ask for the number of similar projects they've completed, the size and complexity of those projects, and the outcomes they achieved.

5. Clarity: The evaluation criteria should be clear and easy to understand. Vendors should be able to see exactly what they're being evaluated on, and how the weightings will be applied. This will help them to prepare more effective proposals.

6. Cost-effectiveness: While cost is often an important consideration in tenders, it's important to balance cost against other evaluation criteria. Don't automatically choose the vendor with the lowest price; instead, look for the vendor that offers the best overall value for money.

7. Compliance: The evaluation criteria should be compliant with any relevant laws, regulations, or policies. For example, Fijian government has a policy in which companies must be compliant to FNPF and tax laws,

Once you've identified these key factors, you'll need to determine the relative importance of each one. This will help you prioritize your evaluation criteria and ensure that you're focusing on the factors that matter most to your organization.

It's also important to ensure that your evaluation criteria are fair and unbiased. This means avoiding any criteria that could discriminate against certain suppliers, such as requiring specific certifications or experience that only a small number of suppliers may possess. Instead, focus on objective criteria that are relevant to the project and can be applied equally to all bidders.

The impact of not setting the right evaluation criteria can be damaging

So, what are the impacts of not setting the right evaluation criteria? Firstly, it can lead to the selection of a supplier that doesn't meet your organization's needs. This can result in poor project outcomes, delays, and additional costs. It can also damage the reputation of your organization and erode stakeholder confidence in your procurement function. In extreme cases, it can even result in legal action if suppliers feel that they've been unfairly treated.

In conclusion, setting the right evaluation criteria is essential to the success of any procurement process. Taking the time to properly define your criteria and communicate them to potential bidders can help ensure that you select the right supplier and get the best value for your organization. Don't underestimate the importance of this step in the procurement process – it could make all the difference to your project outcomes. A tender evaluation is only as good as the evaluation criteria.