A solicitation awards either to the lowest responsive bid or to the best value across price and other factors, and the two demand entirely different responses.
What the award basis sets
Low bid awards to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, so the response is about responsiveness and price. Best value awards on price weighed with past performance, technical approach, and other factors, so the response must win on those factors too.
Why the basis is easy to misread
The award basis is stated in the evaluation section, and a firm that assumes low bid on a best value solicitation underinvests in the technical and past performance content that decides the award. The basis must be settled before the draft.
How an AI bid response agent reads it
An AI bid response agent extracts the award basis and the factors, identifies whether the bid is low bid or best value, and shapes the matrix and the draft to what the award actually turns on.
You can see the award basis identified from the solicitation in our AI bid response agent demo for construction and infrastructure RFPs. It reads whether the award is low bid or best value so the response fits.