Award algorithms and technical scoring trends in design-build best-value highway projects

Award algorithms and technical scoring trends in design-build best-value highway projects

Best-value procurement enables highway agencies to make informed selections by assessing not only cost but also technical criteria. However, assessing technical criteria is necessary but not sufficient to reach a best-value selection that is not biased toward cost. In the last two decades, the ranges of scores used in the assessment of technical proposals have shown to play an influential role in the bias toward cost of best-value selections. This study investigates whether there is any significant difference between technical scores assigned to design-builders in best-value procurements using different award algorithms. The research used statistical and goodness-of-fit analysis to characterize, evaluate, and compare 822 technical scores from 240 design-build highway projects procured using best-value procurement in the US. The study showed that technical scoring trends are statistically significantly different across weighted criteria, adjusted bid, and adjusted score algorithms. Results suggest that the weighted criteria algorithm facilitates a better differentiation among proposers based on technical criteria, resulting in a higher dispersion of technical scores than adjusted bid and adjusted score algorithms. Highway agencies may consider this research’s results as a first steppingstone to refining the processes that serve to define and select best-value core elements such as the award algorithms.

conference paper

Calahorra-Jimenez, M. (2022). Award algorithms and technical scoring trends in design-build best-value highway projects. Construction Research Congress 2022, 200–209. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784483978.021