Past performance isn’t a highlight reel. It’s evidence, evaluated on three things: relevance, recency, and scale.And there’s a rule that keeps a thin record from sinking you — most new firms don’t know it.
They’re different. Experienceis whether you’ve done this kind of work. Past performanceis how well you did it (quality, schedule, cost control, responsiveness), usually drawn from the government’s own records in CPARS and from references. Section M will tell you which it’s scoring; often both, separately. Read it before you pick what to cite.
Evaluators weigh each reference on three axes. Relevance: the same kind of work, scope, and complexity as this requirement — the heaviest weight by far. Recency:performed inside the window the RFP allows, often the last three to five years. Scale:comparable in dollar value, size, and effort, so it shows you can carry this one. A huge, recent contract that isn’t relevant work helps less than a smaller, on-point one.
Rate one project you’re thinking of citing:
Score one reference on all three. No relevant record at all? You can’t be marked down for it — see the neutral rule below.
No relevant record yet? You cannot be marked down for it. FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv) is explicit: an offeror without a record of relevant past performance “may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably” — a neutral rating. GAO has sustained protests where agencies excluded firms for a neutral or “unknown” rating, calling it improper unfavorable treatment. So a thin record keeps you in the game; it just means you win on the other factors.
Don’t leave relevance for the evaluator to infer — state it. For each reference, map it directly to the RFP’s definitions: here’s the same scope, here’s the same complexity, here’s the comparable scale, performed in the recency window. Add the outcome and a verifiable result. A partial reference, traced explicitly to the criteria, beats a stronger one left implicit. Keep your CPARS clean — it’s the record the government reads whether or not you cite it.
For your next bid, list every project you could cite and run each through relevance / recency / scale above. Pick the most relevant two or three, and for each write one line that maps it to the RFP’s own words. If they’re all weak, line up a teaming partner whose record isn’t.
Relevance you state, partners you cite, results you can prove — past performance written for the audience that scores it.
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