19. There is no requirement to set out to potential tenderers the detailed process by which MOD will assess the returned PQQs and select those to take forward. The project team is assessing capacity and suitability of the contractor, not evaluating detailed proposals on how the contractor proposes to meet the requirement. The assessment is not primarily a comparative process and all PQQs should be assessed individually against pre-set criteria. For PFI contracts, which will tend to be more complicated than asset procurements, it is highly likely that an assessment paper could aid the process and the MOD PFU team can offer advice and assistance on this aspect. The PQQ sets out briefly the parameters of assessment for this stage (see para 24) but no further detail than this should be required. This does not mean, however, that the acquisition team should not draw up its own selection method which should essentially be a set of thresholds against each of the questions. The primary importance of this is to ensure consistency between assessors and across the various submissions. All assessments must be open, fair and objective.
20. It is unusual to want or need to interview tenderers at the PQQ stage. Project teams should consult the MOD PFU before conducting any such interviews.
21. Depending on the anticipated scale of response, acquisition teams may wish, before receiving responses, to prepare a 'filter' mechanism for inclusion in their assessment process - such filters identify obvious flaws in a response and obviate the need for detailed assessment of "non-compliant" responses and, typically, include:
• material incompleteness of response
• ineligible respondent (e.g. not capable of obtaining security clearance)
22. As explained above, the criteria for assessment fall into 3 categories: eligibility and security requirements, technical capability and financial standing. The areas for consideration can be summarised as follows:
• Applicants or any of their Members (as described in Annex B) may be ineligible under the terms of Regulation 14 (criteria for rejection of services providers) of the Public Services Contracts Regulations 1993.
• For reasons of national security, to be eligible an Applicant and its Members must be capable of obtaining security clearance.
• The technical capability of the Applicant as an entity and its Members will be assessed for, among other things:
i) Capability, including capability in the following areas; design; support services and facilities and any other issues relevant to the project such as construction experience
ii) Quality, including: quality management, the existence of any quality assurance hierarchy separate from the production or project management organisations; relevant accreditations; and proposals for the management of the project
iii) Managerial suitability, including: the Applicant's previous delivery track record relating to contracts for similar service provision; the prior experience of the Members working together; adequacy of project management, health and safety and risk management procedures and processes.
iv) Financial standing will be assessed for proposed equity providers (or equivalent) within the Applicant, and for contractors who will be bearing significant responsibility and risk in undertaking the project including financing the competition and intentions for financing the project itself. The MOD PFU or the PFG can assist in assessment of financial standing, including the use of independent credit ratings.
23. Failure to meet any of these assessment criteria gives MOD the right (but not an obligation) to reject the failing tenderer.
24. The project manager should determine an assessment methodology that is open, fair and objective. Notwithstanding para 19, wherever possible this assessment methodology, describing the factors that are to be assessed and their relative importance, should be published. Project managers and their commercial officers must judge the level of weighting scheme information to be revealed, given the potential for tenderers to tailor responses accordingly. PFI projects seek to maximise flexibility in the method of service delivery, however, there may be a limited number of mandatory or 'go/no go' requirements to be satisfied. Some of the most common are:
• A contractor will require ISO 9000 series accreditation.
• Where there are security implications, companies generally will require appropriate accreditation.
• MOD PFU or PFG should vet the financial standing of the bidders, including all members of a proposed consortium.
25. Acquisition teams should consult the MOD PFU for any relevant scoring templates that may be available.