Ten states provide at least minimal guidance for public agencies for setting standards related to evaluation of proposals. The guidance that most of these statutes give is very broad in nature, like the statutes in Louisiana, Maryland, and Nevada, which ask public agencies to determine the "public need" for the project, the interconnections between the new facility and existing facilities, the estimated cost of the project, and the ability of the group proposing the project to meet its proposed timeline. Texas, in contrast, directs the state Department of Transportation to develop evaluation criteria. Such broad standards are generally useless for public agencies, as nearly any project could be justified on these grounds.
On the other hand, providing detailed evaluation criteria may dissuade private firms from proposing projects that are innovative or outside the normal course of PPP projects a state has constructed. These criteria may include the capability of the sponsoring agency to effectively manage the project, the transparency of the procurement process, capabilities of the project delivery team, and proposed use of new technology to improve the cost-effectiveness of the project (AECOM Consult 2007). In general, all cases are so unique that they may require different considerations. In this sense, a statute can provide general guidelines and a minimum set of factors that must be carefully evaluated, such as a project's innovative methods or broader socioeconomic merits.