210 Bids, Tenders and Proposals Methods of evaluating bids Because the process that leads to identification of the most economically advantageous tender needs to be auditable and objective, most public sector authorities employ a form of marking scheme in which each bid is scored against the defined criteria, which are weighted to reflect their degree of priority. Scoring, though, is not required by the UK procurement regulations and it is open to an authority or utility not to use scoring in the evaluation if it prefers another method. Where scoring is applied, evaluators normally use scoring sheets or evalu- ation matrices (Figure 23.2) and may also prepare written statements of the strengths and weaknesses of each bid. They seek to establish a consensus about the merits of the competing bids, discussing any major discrepancies in assessments or scores. The bids are then ranked in the order of their total scores. Either the bid with the highest score is selected as the winning bid, or ­ if the evaluation is in two parts, the first concerned with technical merit and the second with price ­ those bids with total scores at or above a pre-set threshold (say 65 or 70 points out of a maximum 100) go forward to a financial evaluation before being given a final rank on the basis of their combined and weighted technical and financial scores. This final rank identifies