Past Performance Evaluation In Government Contracts - Recent Developments

The purpose of this special course is to examine the use of past performance as an evaluation factor in competitively negotiated procurements. It includes a practical analysis of recent case law developments and a discussion of "lessons learned" from both Government and contractor perspectives.

The use of past performance is simple in concept but can be troublesome in application. Government agencies must consider past performance when evaluating offerors in solicitations exceeding $100,000. A key in successfully using past performance in the source selection process is to establish a clear relationship between the statement of work and the evaluation criteria of the solicitation. The documentation should show what past performance information the Government will evaluate and how it will be weighted. Further, the Government should focus on information that specifically demonstrates performance quality according to the size, scope, and complexity of the procurement being considered.

Because of the inherently subjective nature of past performance evaluations, no amount of guidance can completely eliminate questionable practices in the evaluation process. By focusing on recent cases and trends in issues, however, we can gain a sense of the critical issues in past performance evaluations today. 

Amy Laderberg will be the course director for this full day seminar for Government and contractor professionals on recent developments and "hot" topics in past performance - and practical advice on how to handle this seemingly unpredictable area of proposal evaluation.