Past Performance for Federal Construction Proposals

In most federal construction competitions, past performance is one of the most important factors, and often the single most important. It's also where we see the most proposals quietly eliminated. Not because the contractor lacks experience, but because their projects don't meet the solicitation's exact definition of "relevant."

This guide covers how construction past performance is evaluated and the mistakes that cost contractors the most.

How past performance is evaluated

Past performance must be evaluated in every competitive source selection. For construction, solicitations typically define relevant projects using some combination of:

• Dollar value, such as a minimum construction value per project
• Recency, often completed within the last five years
• Scope and complexity, such as similar facility types or a minimum number of engineering disciplines
• Project type mix, such as at least one design-build and one renovation
• Role, such as work performed as the prime contractor

Evaluators then look at how well you performed on those projects, using CPARS evaluations or past performance questionnaires.

The quiet disqualifier: project minimums

This is the problem we catch most often. A contractor has plenty of federal experience, but when you apply the solicitation's definition, not enough projects qualify.

In one construction proposal we reviewed, the solicitation required at least three projects above a set dollar value. The contractor had four strong federal projects, but only two met the value threshold. On paper they had the experience; under the solicitation's rules they didn't meet the minimum. Catching it early meant there was time to find a teaming partner with qualifying projects. Catching it after submission would have meant a noncompliant proposal.

Other minimums that eliminate projects:

• Completion dates outside the recency window, including design-build projects where the design portion counts separately
• Project type requirements, such as needing a design-bid-build project when most of your work is design-build
• Role, such as projects performed as a subcontractor when prime experience is required
• Discipline counts, such as design projects needing three or more engineering disciplines

CPARS and past performance questionnaires

Federal construction contracts of $900,000 or more require CPARS evaluations, so many smaller federal projects, and all commercial projects, won't have one. Solicitations usually let you substitute a past performance questionnaire (PPQ) completed by the client.

PPQs are where proposals lose time. Common issues:

• The client must send the questionnaire directly to the contracting office, so you can't control when it arrives
• A missing questionnaire for a project without CPARS may be treated as a deficiency
• For design-build, the designer's past performance may need to come from the client that hired the designer, not from you

Start PPQ requests as soon as the solicitation drops.

Subcontractors, joint ventures and neutral ratings

A few rules can help when your own record is thin:

• Subcontractors. Evaluators may consider the past performance of subcontractors who will perform major or critical parts of the work.
• Joint ventures. If a joint venture has no record of its own, each partner's past performance must be considered. For small business joint ventures, agencies must consider each partner's work individually and can't require the small partner to meet every requirement on its own.
• No record. An offeror with no relevant past performance is generally rated neutral, not negative. But against competitors with strong records, neutral rarely wins.

See Joint Ventures for Federal Construction.

Where to go from here

The strongest construction proposals are built on projects chosen deliberately: the ones that meet every minimum, cover every required project type, and come with the documentation to prove performance. If you're preparing a bid, we can help you find out quickly whether your projects qualify, and what to do if they don't.