Past performance is an important element of almost every government procurement process. The larger the procurement, the more importance you will see being given to past performance within the evaluation criteria in most solicitations. Even though the RFP does not state that past performance is a factor, it can sometimes make or break your ability to win the contract.
Choosing your best references for a particular opportunity is both an objective and subjective process. First, let’s define a couple of terms that you must know and understand in order to get this section of your proposal right.
- Recency: Recency is usually objective criteria. The solicitation will often tell you very specifically how recent your cited past performance references must be. A contract reference will generally be considered “recent” (even if that term is not clearly defined within the solicitation), if you are currently performing the work or if you completed the contract you are referencing within the past 2 – 3 years. And if your ongoing contract is very new, make sure you have at least 6 complete months of contract performance and preferably at least a year. Solicitations will often include specific language about using ongoing contracts as “past performance” so be sure and pay attention to that information.
- Relevancy: A contract that you are referencing will generally be considered “relevant” if it is similar in size, scope and complexity to the opportunity you are pursuing. Demonstrating relevance can be subjective, but here are some guidelines to consider:
- Size is often determined by dollar value of the total contract effort. If you were the prime contractor on your reference, you get to count the total value of the contract, including all options, or the number of staff you will need to perform the contract. If you were a subcontractor, you may only show the dollar value of your subcontracted effort for that reference. So if the opportunity you are pursuing has a total contract value (including all options if exercised) of about $500,000, you will want to cite references for contracts of similar value.
- Scope is harder to define, so let’s look at an example: Let’s say the opportunity you are pursuing is for providing a variety of medical specialists to military hospitals located throughout the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska. The “scope” then includes contract performance at several locations spread throughout the US, including some remote locations such as those in Alaska and Hawaii. It includes being able to provide qualified personnel for a variety of labor categories. So your references should reflect contracts where you provided medical specialists at a variety of locations, especially in different states.
- Complexity is based more on the details of the contracted effort. Using the same example as we used for Scope, let’s say the opportunity you are pursuing is for providing not just a variety of medical specialists, but Doctors with various specialties, as well as Registered and Licensed Practical Nurses, at the locations shown above. The “complexity” then includes providing “credentialed” doctors as well as nurses (two very different categories of health care specialists). The fact that hiring and retaining medical staff varies greatly depending on location, and that Hawaii and Alaska bring unique, challenging staffing requirements, also lends to the complexity of the contract performance. Your references should demonstrate that, while you might not have specific performance in Alaska and Hawaii, you do have experience providing uniquely qualified medical staff in remote locations, such as Montana or some areas of Arizona. Your knowledge of the medical staffing industry will be reflected not only in your technical proposal where you talk about staffing in remote locations but also in the references you present that show you understand the complexity of the contract opportunity you are pursuing.
The closer you can match the contract(s) you have performed against the requirements of the opportunity you are pursuing, the more relevant your past performance will be considered. A tool I use to select the best possible references is an Experience Relevance Matrix. I set up a table listing out all of the requirements of the opportunity I am pursuing that I think pertain to Size, Scope and Complexity. In a column next to the Requirements column I identify one of my referenced contracts (Contract #, Agency or customer). Then reading the requirements in the left column, I put an X in the referenced contract column next to each requirement that I actually performed under the referenced contract. Then in a column next to the first reference I list my second reference and do the same thing. The contract references that have the most Xs are the most relevant. If you have the opportunity to include the Experience Relevance Matrix in your proposal, I recommend doing so. Help the evaluators to see that your experience is very relevant to the opportunity you are competing for.
Now keep in mind, the government is going to be contacting the points of contact you give them for your selected references so make sure that your points of contact understand the importance of responding to the past performance survey they will receive. And make sure your references will say nice things about you!