Minimum Qualifying Score

The minimum qualifying score is the technical score threshold, stated in the Request for Proposals, that a consulting firm must reach for its financial proposal to be considered; firms that score below this floor are eliminated from the competition regardless of their price.

What is the Minimum Qualifying Score?

Under Quality and Cost-Based Selection (qcbs), Least-Cost Selection (lcs), and most competitive consulting methods used by multilateral development banks, the evaluation process is sequential. Technical proposals are scored first on a 100-point scale. The minimum qualifying score, commonly set at 70 or 75 points, separates firms whose technical quality is acceptable from those whose proposals fall below the standard required for the assignment.

Firms that reach the threshold progress to the financial stage: their financial proposals are opened at a public ceremony and their financial-proposal scores are computed. Firms below the threshold are notified that their financial proposals will not be opened, and the proposals are returned. This gate-keeping function is why the threshold exists: it prevents a technically inadequate firm from winning simply by offering the lowest price, protecting the quality of the resulting work.

The minimum qualifying score is part of the technical-evaluation-criteria published in the rfp, and it is non-negotiable after proposals are submitted. The bank reviews the threshold as part of prior-review on large assignments to confirm it is set at an appropriate level, neither so high that it pre-selects the winner nor so low that it provides no real filter.

Why the Minimum Qualifying Score matters for bidders

The minimum qualifying score defines the floor a firm must clear before price becomes relevant at all. A firm pricing very competitively but scoring 68 out of 100 on the technical assessment loses the competition entirely. This makes technical quality a binary prerequisite, not just a weighted factor, below the threshold. Firms should assess their realistic technical score against published criteria before pricing the financial proposal, because a near-threshold technical performance leaves no margin for errors in key expert CVs, missing mandatory criteria, or vague methodology sections. Building internal scoring simulations using past RFPs from the same client or institution gives proposal teams a calibration point before submitting.

FAQ

Is the minimum qualifying score always 70 or 75?

No. The threshold is set by the client and stated in the RFP. While 70 and 75 are the most common values across World Bank and ADB assignments, some RFPs use 60 or 80. Always check the specific RFP.

What if only one firm clears the minimum qualifying score?

If only one technically qualifying firm remains, the client may proceed to negotiate with that firm directly, extend the competition, or cancel and re-issue. Procedures vary by institution and are described in the bank's procurement regulations.

Do evaluators know the minimum threshold while scoring?

Yes. It is published in the RFP and known to all parties, but evaluators are expected to score objectively against the criteria without adjusting marks to push firms over or under the line.