A strong past performance record does not help a proposal if the evaluators never hear from the people who can vouch for it. Many solicitations ask offerors to send past performance questionnaires to their references, who complete them and return them directly to the government by a deadline. In the fourth quarter, those deadlines collide with summer vacations, fiscal year-end workloads and references who have changed jobs. A little preparation in June can protect a rating you earned.
How questionnaires typically work
When a solicitation uses questionnaires, it usually includes a form as an attachment and instructions for how it must be handled. Common patterns include:
- The offeror fills in identifying information about the contract and sends the form to its reference.
- The reference completes the ratings and comments and sends the form directly to the contracting officer, not back to the offeror.
- The questionnaire must arrive by a stated date, which may be the proposal due date or a separate deadline.
- The offeror may be asked to list in its proposal the references it contacted.
Evaluators may also use government performance databases, contact references directly or rely on other information they hold. Questionnaires are one source among several, but for firms with few federal evaluations on record, they can matter a great deal.
Prepare your references before you need them
Build a reference list for your most relevant projects and keep it current. For each reference, confirm:
- That they are still in the role, or how to reach them if they have moved
- That they are willing to complete questionnaires, and how they prefer to be contacted
- Their availability during the summer, including planned leave
- Whether their organization has rules about completing references, since some government offices route questionnaires through contracting staff
- A backup reference for the same project, where possible
Commercial and state and local customers can be valuable references when the solicitation allows them, and they may have no experience with federal forms. A brief, friendly explanation of what the form is and why it matters goes a long way.
Sending the questionnaire
When a solicitation arrives, send questionnaires as early as the instructions allow. Prefill every field you are permitted to complete, such as contract numbers, dates and scope, so the reference only needs to rate and comment. Include the deadline, the return address and a short note thanking the reference for their time. Do not draft the reference’s answers or ratings; questionnaires are meant to reflect the reference’s own views, and trying to influence them can damage your credibility.
Follow up politely as the deadline approaches. If the instructions allow, ask the reference to let you know when the form has been submitted, and keep a log of who received what and when.
After the competition
Thank your references whatever the outcome. If a debriefing reveals that a questionnaire was missing or weaker than expected, use that information to adjust your reference list, not to confront the reference. Over time, a well-maintained list of willing, responsive references becomes as valuable as the projects themselves, especially in a season when every proposal seems due at once.