“The greatest predictor of
the future is the past.”
While the original source of this pithy observation is unknown, it remains true, most especially in government contracting. A company’s past performance rating may be the single greatest determining factor in the next bid’s win or loss. The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) is one of the most critical, and most overlooked, elements to impact an organization’s success in winning future business with the federal government. Understanding how the CPARS rating impacts a company’s current bid, how the government rates past performance, and how to achieve the highest CPARS rating all serve to increase the win probability on the next bid.
Impact to the current bid
The federal government is one of the most risk-adverse customers a vendor will ever encounter, which is why successful performance on current work is so critical. Not just for current bids but for the contractor’s own protection as failure could mean contract termination, liability, legal expenses, disbarred from doing future work, and, of course, negative evaluation of past performance. Typically, the past performance is one of the highest rated elements of a solicitation; in order to obtain the highest possible rating, CPARS and other positive past experience must be demonstrated. And one must align past performance to that specific solicitation‘s requirements.
Government rating system
Effective January 15, 2019, PPIRS was officially retired to conclude its merger with the CPARS. Data from PPIRS has been merged into CPARS.gov, making CPARS the official system for past performance information. This merge simplifies functions such as creating and editing performance and integrity records, changes to administering users and running reports, generating performance records, and viewing/managing performance records. Users will now have one location and one account to perform all functionality.
The government is fairly straight-forward in pointing to the regulations which government past performance ratings; however, within the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 9.104 and 9.105-1 is where the subjectivity arrives. Theses directives, along with each unique solicitation issued, contains a level of subjectivity which can negatively impact the uninformed. Stay informed.
Achieve the highest CPARS rating
In order to achieve the highest possible CPARS rating it is important to first understand, while not all contracts require CPARS evaluations*, all contracts are subject to a CPARS evaluation, at the discretion of the contract’s reviewing official. Next, understand what is required to obtain the highest possible rating, set goals to achieve, and begin working with the end in mind from the moment the contract is awarded. *FAR 42.1502
The TargetGov KickStart Program™ is an affordable, individually customized program, designed to propel businesses into the Federal market and position the organization for success. For more information about the TargetGov CPARS Tracker™ and how it supports your firm’s growth in the federal market, contact us today!
800-579-1346 x320 or email cindygaddis@targetgov.com