It is stipulated in the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2017, that the evaluation criteria should be objective, giving enterprises a fair shot at being able to advance to the next phase of evaluation, namely Price and B-BBEE.

Most tenders are evaluated on Functionality, but an Organ of State will indicate in the tender documents how the tender will be evaluated.

The tender document will normally specify the evaluation standards for measuring functionality. It will also state the following:

• The points available for each criterion and, if any, each sub-criterion.
• The minimum qualifying score needed to advance. Usually, the threshold is between 65% and 85% out of 100%.

All tenders achieving less than the minimum qualifying score will be declared non-responsive and will not qualify to be evaluated on Price and B-BBEE.

When an Organ of State sets the minimum qualifying scores for Functionality, the scores should:

• Not be generic.
• Be determined separately for each tender.
• Not be so low that it jeopardises the quality of the required goods/services.
• Not be so high that they are impossible to attain.

All tenders that score the minimum qualifying score for functionality must be evaluated further, in terms of Price and B-BBEE as stated by the preference point systems in accordance with the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2017.