MEAT vs lowest price: understanding how tenders are really evaluated

Why evaluation method matters

The evaluation method determines everything about your bid strategy:

• What to emphasise
• How much effort on quality vs price
• Whether to bid at all
• What “winning” actually requires

Understanding MEAT — the most common method — versus lowest price helps you write smarter bids and invest effort where it scores.

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The two main evaluation methods

Method 1: Lowest Price (L1)

Definition: The contract is awarded to the bidder offering the lowest price that meets mandatory (pass/fail) requirements.

Characteristics:

• Price is 100% of evaluation (after compliance)
• Quality is pass/fail only
• If you pass compliance, cheapest wins
• Common for: simple goods, commodity services, construction
• Rare in health and social care (but does happen)

Example:

• Supply of PPE, stationery, uniform
• Simple cleaning contracts
• Standard construction
• Some transport services

Bidding strategy:

• Meet compliance minimums efficiently
• Focus entirely on cost reduction
• Sacrifice quality where legally permissible
• Race to bottom on price

Why it’s rare in care: Quality failures in care are dangerous. Commissioners usually want to assess quality, not just check boxes.

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Method 2: MEAT — Most Economically Advantageous Tender

Definition: The contract is awarded to the bidder offering the best value, considering both quality and price (and sometimes other factors).

Characteristics:

• Quality scored (often 60-70%)
• Price scored (often 30-40%)
• Other factors possible (social value, innovation, etc.)
• Quality and price combined mathematically
• Highest combined score wins
• Standard in health and social care

Formula (simplified):

Total Score = (Quality Score × Quality Weight) + (Price Score × Price Weight)

Example weights:

• Quality: 70% (scored 0-100)
• Price: 30% (scored 0-100)
• Social value: Included in quality or separate

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How MEAT scoring works

Step 1: Quality evaluation

Each quality question scored 0-100 (or 0-5, 0-20, etc.) based on criteria:

• Excellent: 80-100
• Good: 60-79
• Acceptable: 40-59
• Poor: 20-39
• Unacceptable: 0-19

Example:

• Service delivery question: 70/100
• Workforce question: 85/100
• Safeguarding question: 90/100
• Quality average: 81.7/100

Step 2: Price evaluation

Price scored inversely — cheapest gets highest score:

Formula:

Price Score = (Lowest Price / Your Price) × 100

Example:

• Bidder A: £500,000 (lowest) → 100 points
• Bidder B: £550,000 → (500/550) × 100 = 91 points
• Bidder C: £600,000 → (500/600) × 100 = 83 points

Step 3: Weighted combination

Apply weights to each component:

Example (70% quality, 30% price):

• Bidder A: Quality 75, Price 100
  • (75 × 0.70) + (100 × 0.30) = 52.5 + 30 = 82.5 total
• Bidder B: Quality 90, Price 91
  • (90 × 0.70) + (91 × 0.30) = 63 + 27.3 = 90.3 total
• Bidder C: Quality 60, Price 83
  • (60 × 0.70) + (83 × 0.30) = 42 + 24.9 = 66.9 total

Winner: Bidder B (90.3) — despite not being cheapest or highest quality alone, the best combination wins.

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Quality vs price trade-offs

The scoring math reveals strategy

Scenario analysis:

Bidder	Quality Score	Price Score	Weighted Total (70/30)	Rank
A	60	100 (lowest)	72.0	3rd
B	75	90	79.5	2nd
C	90	80	87.0	1st
D	95	70	87.5	1st

Insights:

• Cheapest (A) doesn’t win with poor quality
• Highest quality (D) doesn’t win if price is too high
• Sweet spot: Strong quality + reasonable price
• Small price premium (10-20%) is often worth a large quality gain

When quality matters more

High quality weight (70%+):

• Complex services (supported living, mental health)
• High-risk services (safeguarding, clinical care)
• Strategic contracts (frameworks, long-term)
• Innovation-focused tenders

Strategy: Invest heavily in quality. Price matters but quality dominates.

When price matters more

High price weight (50%+):

• Commoditised services (simple transport, cleaning)
• High volume, low complexity
• Financially pressured commissioners
• Short-term or marginal contracts

Strategy: Quality threshold must be met, but price competition is intense. Efficiency and lean operations matter.

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Common MEAT variations

Variation 1: Quality threshold then price

Process:

1. Score quality
2. Only bidders above quality threshold proceed to price evaluation
3. Of those passing, cheapest wins

Example:

• Quality threshold: 70/100 minimum
• Bidder A: 85 quality, £600K price → Proceeds
• Bidder B: 65 quality, £500K price → ELIMINATED
• Bidder C: 75 quality, £550K price → Proceeds
• Winner: Bidder C (cheaper of those passing quality threshold)

Strategy: Quality is the gatekeeper. Must pass threshold to even compete on price. Don’t sacrifice quality below threshold.

Variation 2: Price ceiling then quality

Process:

1. Check price against ceiling/budget
2. Only bidders within budget proceed
3. Of those, highest quality wins

Example:

• Price ceiling: £550K maximum
• Bidder A: £600K, quality 95 → ELIMINATED (over budget)
• Bidder B: £500K, quality 75 → Proceeds
• Bidder C: £550K, quality 85 → Proceeds
• Winner: Bidder C (highest quality within budget)

Strategy: Price is the gatekeeper. Don’t bid above ceiling (unless exception possible). Focus on quality within budget.

Variation 3: Multi-criteria with social value

Weights:

• Quality: 50%
• Price: 30%
• Social value: 20%

Strategy: Three-way balance needed. Can’t ignore any component.

Variation 4: Abnormally low tenders

Regulation: If price is “abnormally low,” commissioner must investigate.

Risk: Suspicion of:

• Unsustainable pricing (service failure risk)
• Tax evasion/social dumping
• Lack of understanding
• Deliberate loss-leading

Strategy: Price competitively but sustainably. Be ready to justify if queried.

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Reading the evaluation criteria

Where to find it

Evaluation method and weights are always in the tender documents:

• ITT/ITQ Section 3: “Evaluation Criteria” or “Award Criteria”
• Attachment B: Sometimes separate document
• SQ/PQQ: Pre-qualification may indicate approach

What to extract

Critical information:

1. Quality weight (usually 50-70%)
2. Price weight (usually 30-50%)
3. Quality scoring method (criteria, points per question)
4. Price scoring method (formula, adjustments allowed)
5. Other factors (social value %, innovation bonus, etc.)
6. Thresholds (minimum quality to proceed, price ceiling, etc.)

Calculation example

Tender states:

• Quality: 60% (4 questions, each 0-25 marks, total 100)
• Price: 40% (lowest = 100, others proportional)
• Minimum quality: 60/100 to proceed

Your bid:

• Quality scores: 22 + 20 + 23 + 18 = 83/100
• Price: £750K (lowest competitor: £700K)
• Price score: (700/750) × 100 = 93.3

Calculation:

• Quality: 83 × 0.60 = 49.8
• Price: 93.3 × 0.40 = 37.3
• Total: 87.1

Assessment: Strong position. Quality well above threshold. Price competitive but not lowest. Total score likely competitive.

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Strategic implications

When to invest in quality

Invest heavily when:

• Quality weight is 60%+
• Quality threshold exists (must pass)
• Your quality differentiates (innovation, outcomes, expertise)
• Competition is strong on price (can’t compete on cost)
• Service is complex/high-risk

How to invest:

• Professional tender writing
• Extensive evidence preparation
• Innovation and differentiation
• Thorough evaluation criteria mapping

When to sharpen price

Focus on price when:

• Price weight is 40%+
• Quality is threshold-only (pass/fail)
• You have cost advantages (scale, efficiency, location)
• Service is commoditised
• Commissioner is explicitly value-conscious

How to sharpen:

• Operational efficiency improvements
• Lean staffing models
• Technology for productivity
• Supply chain savings
• Acceptable margin reduction (strategic)

The danger zones

Danger 1: Quality too low

• Miss quality threshold = eliminated regardless of price
• Low quality score = can’t compensate with price

Danger 2: Price too high

• Above price ceiling = eliminated
• Price score too low = can’t compensate with quality
• “Abnormally high” may not be investigated but won’t win

Danger 3: Middle mediocrity

• Average quality + average price = average total
• Usually loses to someone excellent in one dimension

Sweet spot:

• Strong quality (top quartile)
• Reasonable price (within 15-20% of cheapest)
• Or: Competitive price (near lowest) + acceptable quality

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Practical bid strategy by evaluation type

Scenario A: 70% quality, 30% price (Complex care)

Strategy:

• Invest 60% of effort in quality
• Quality target: 85-95/100
• Price: Reasonable (within 20% of cheapest)
• Accept you won’t be cheapest
• Win on quality margin

Scenario B: 50% quality, 50% price (Mixed)

Strategy:

• Balanced effort
• Quality target: 75-85/100
• Price target: Within 10% of cheapest
• Both dimensions need to be competitive

Scenario C: 40% quality, 60% price (Commoditised)

Strategy:

• Invest 50% effort in price optimisation
• Quality target: Pass threshold (70+)
• Price target: Lowest or near-lowest
• Efficiency and lean operations are critical
• May need to sacrifice margin to win

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Common evaluation mistakes

Mistake 1: Assuming quality-only

Mistake: “Our quality is excellent, we’ll win regardless of price.”

Reality: Price always matters unless weight is 0%. Even 30% price can swing close contests.

Mistake 2: Assuming price-only

Mistake: “We need to be cheapest to win.”

Reality: Quality usually 50%+. Being 5% cheaper but 20% worse on quality often loses.

Mistake 3: Ignoring thresholds

Mistake: Focusing on total score, missing minimum requirements.

Reality: Quality threshold or price ceiling = automatic elimination if failed.

Mistake 4: Not calculating

Mistake: Bidding without understanding scoring math.

Reality: Simple calculation shows where to invest effort — quality marginal gain vs price marginal gain.

Mistake 5: Unsustainable pricing

Mistake: Cutting price to win, then failing to deliver.

Reality: Contract failure damages reputation, invites enforcement, costs more long-term.

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The MEAT calculation tool

Quick assessment for any tender:

1. What are the weights?
   Quality: ___%
   Price: ___%
   Other: ___%

2. What's my likely quality score?
   Estimate: ___/100

3. What's my likely price position?
   My price: £_____
   Estimated cheapest: £_____
   My price score: (lowest/yours) × 100 = ____

4. Calculate weighted total:
   Quality: [score] × [weight] = ____
   Price: [score] × [weight] = ____
   TOTAL: ____

5. Assessment:
   - Can I realistically score higher on quality?
   - Can I reduce price sustainably?
   - What's my competitive position?
   - Should I bid?

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Summary: MEAT strategy rules

1. Read criteria carefully — Weights, thresholds, formulas
2. Calculate before bidding — Where can you score most?
3. Quality usually dominates — In care services, 60-70% typical
4. Price matters too — Can’t ignore, especially if close
5. Thresholds are gates — Must pass to proceed
6. Sweet spot is balance — Strong quality + reasonable price
7. Invest accordingly — Effort proportionate to scoring weight
8. Don’t race to bottom — Unsustainable pricing fails everyone

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