Factors — Evaluation Factors & Subfactors
Also known as: Section M factors, evaluation criteria
What It Is
Evaluation factors and significant subfactors, governed by FAR 15.304, are the criteria the government will use to evaluate proposals and make award, and they must be stated in the solicitation (typically Section M of a Uniform Contract Format RFP). The FAR requires that the solicitation list all factors and significant subfactors that will affect award and disclose their relative importance, including how the non-price factors compare to price as a whole. Two evaluations are effectively mandatory in competitive negotiated acquisitions: price or cost must be evaluated in every source selection, and past performance must be evaluated in all competitively negotiated acquisitions expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (with limited exceptions). Quality is then evaluated through one or more non-cost factors such as technical/management approach, key personnel, or experience. The agency may evaluate proposals strictly in accordance with the stated factors — and only those factors.
When It Applies
- On every negotiated competition — the factors in Section M define exactly how your proposal will be scored.
- When you build your proposal outline: the factors and subfactors, in their stated order and weight, are your table of contents.
- When deciding bid/no-bid: the relative importance of price versus non-price factors tells you whether your firm can realistically win.
Key Features
| Feature | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Must be disclosed and weighted | FAR 15.304 requires the solicitation to state all factors and significant subfactors affecting award and their relative importance, including against price. |
| Price/cost is always evaluated | Cost or price to the government must be evaluated in every source selection — there is no non-price-only competition. |
| Past performance is normally required | Past performance must be evaluated in competitively negotiated acquisitions above the simplified acquisition threshold, with narrow exceptions the CO must document. |
| Only the stated factors count | The government must evaluate proposals based solely on the factors and subfactors stated in the solicitation — unstated criteria cannot drive the award. |
What It Means for an SDVOSB
The evaluation factors are the rulebook for the competition, and reading them correctly is the single highest-return thing an SDVOSB can do before writing a proposal. They tell you whether the buy rewards quality (heavy non-price factors — a tradeoff opportunity for a strong small firm) or price (price-dominant or LPTA). They also tell you exactly what to write and in what order. Build your proposal outline directly from Section M, address every factor and subfactor, and use the factor weighting to decide whether your firm's discriminators can actually win before you spend B&P dollars — the bid/no-bid FAQ and the win-probability estimator help with that call.
How to Win Under It
- Outline your proposal from Section M — one section per evaluation factor and significant subfactor, in the stated order.
- Weigh the relative importance of price versus non-price factors to judge whether your firm can realistically win the buy.
- Address every stated factor and subfactor; an unaddressed factor is a guaranteed weakness or deficiency.
- Hold your proposal to the stated factors only — do not waste space on merits the government has not said it will score.
Common Pitfalls
- Skimming Section M and writing a generic proposal that does not track the actual evaluation factors and weights.
- Misjudging the price-versus-quality balance and bidding a buy your firm cannot win on the stated criteria.
- Leaving a stated subfactor unaddressed, which the evaluator must treat as a weakness or deficiency.
Run the Numbers
Frequently Asked
Where are the evaluation factors found in a solicitation?
In a Uniform Contract Format RFP the evaluation factors and their relative importance appear in Section M (Evaluation Factors for Award), while the instructions for preparing your proposal appear in Section L. FAR 15.304 requires the solicitation to state all factors and significant subfactors that will affect the award and to disclose their relative importance, including how the non-price factors compare to price. Read Section M and Section L together before writing anything.
Does the government have to evaluate price and past performance?
Price or cost must be evaluated in every source selection — there is no competitive award on non-price factors alone. Past performance must be evaluated in all competitively negotiated acquisitions expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, with limited exceptions the contracting officer documents. Other quality factors — technical or management approach, key personnel, experience — are chosen by the agency to fit the requirement and disclosed in Section M.
Primary Sources
- FAR 15.304 — Evaluation factors and significant subfactors
- FAR 15.305 — Proposal evaluation
- FAR Subpart 15.3 — Source Selection
Plain-English reference, not legal advice. How a source selection is conducted, and which evaluation method and procedures apply, is set by the specific solicitation, and the FAR is periodically amended — always read the actual solicitation (especially Sections L and M) and confirm its terms with the contracting officer before relying on this.
Change log (1)
- LaunchedPublished the federal source selection & evaluation methods reference covering how the government evaluates proposals and picks a winner — the best-value tradeoff (FAR 15.101-1), lowest-price technically-acceptable (LPTA, FAR 15.101-2), evaluation factors and subfactors (FAR 15.304), the technical and past-performance evaluations (FAR 15.305), price and cost analysis (FAR 15.404-1), the competitive range (FAR 15.306(c)), discussions and final proposal revisions (FAR 15.306(d) / 15.307), award without discussions (FAR 15.306(a)(3) / 52.215-1), oral presentations (FAR 15.102), the responsibility determination and Certificate of Competency (FAR 9.104 / Subpart 19.6), and debriefings (FAR 15.505 / 15.506) — each with a key-features table, a how-to-win checklist, common pitfalls, an SDVOSB-specific angle, FAQPage, Article, Dataset, and BreadcrumbList structured data, primary-source FAR citations, and cross-links into the glossary, solicitation types, clauses, contract types, how-to guides, FAQ, and the win-probability and price-to-win calculators.