When you aren’t the winning bidder, it’s important to learn what you could do differently next time. Take a look at what you can ask for from United States Department of War (U.S. DoW) so your proposals get stronger and turn into winning bids.
Debriefings
In negotiated federal procurements, unsuccessful bidders are entitled to a single debriefing—either pre-award or post-award.
To receive one, the bidder must request it from the contracting officer within three days of receiving notice of exclusion from the competition or notification that another offeror has been awarded the contract.
A pre-award debriefing focuses on why a proposal was eliminated from the competition.
The agency must explain the evaluation of significant elements of the proposal, the rationale for its exclusion, and answer questions about whether the proper source selection procedures and regulations were followed.
Post-award debriefings provide more detailed information. The agency must discuss significant weaknesses or deficiencies in the bidder’s proposal, the evaluated cost, price, or technical ratings of both the winning and unsuccessful proposals, and relevant past performance information.
If the agency used a ranking system, it must disclose the overall position of all offerors. The debriefing must also explain the rationale for the award decision and provide information such as the make and model of any commercial item offered by the awardee.
In both pre- and post-award sessions, the agency must answer questions related to compliance with stated procedures and applicable regulations.
Debriefings may be conducted by phone, mail, or in person, with face-to-face meetings more common for high-value or sensitive procurements. However, contracting officials may be cautious, providing only the required information, as some offerors use debriefings to search for grounds to file a bid protest.
Debriefing tips
- Always request a debriefing—even when you think you know why you lost. Debriefings often reveal scoring nuances, unstated risk perceptions, or discriminator details that are not obvious from the award notice. Even a “clean loss” provides intelligence for future bids with the same agency.
- Request an “enhanced debriefing” when available. For U.S. DoW procurements, enhanced debriefings allow follow-up questions after the initial session. Use this opportunity strategically to clarify evaluation logic, not to argue.
- Prepare questions in advance—and map them to evaluation criteria. Well-structured questions tied directly to stated factors (technical, management, past performance, price) are more likely to be answered fully. Poorly framed questions are often deflected.
- Focus questions on gaps, not grievances. Ask:
- Where evaluators perceived risk or weakness
- What discriminators separated the winner
- Which sections were unclear or unconvincing
Avoid questions that imply bias or demand justification.
- Document verbatim language used by the agency. Capture exact phrases such as “moderate risk,” “insufficient detail,” or “lack of confidence.” These terms often map directly to internal scoring rubrics and should inform future proposal language.
- Compare evaluator perception to proposal intent. After the debrief, reconcile what you intended to communicate versus what evaluators actually understood. Misalignment is a common root cause of losses.
- Share debrief outcomes beyond capture and proposal teams. Feed lessons learned into pricing, staffing, compliance, and partner selection processes—not just writing teams.
Protests
Protests tips
- Separate “losing” from “losing unfairly”. A protest is appropriate only when there is a credible regulatory or procedural violation—not simply because the evaluation judgment was unfavorable.
- Assess protest value beyond winning the award. Protests may:
- Recover proposal preparation costs
- Correct flawed evaluation processes
- Influence re-competes or future solicitations
- Conduct a rapid protest viability review. Within days of the debrief, evaluate:
- Clear deviations from solicitation criteria
- Unequal treatment of offerors
- Mathematical or factual evaluation errors
- Coordinate legal, capture, and executive leadership early. Protests are not purely legal decisions. Consider long-term customer relationships, upcoming opportunities, and your company’s reputation with the agency.
- Use protests strategically, not reflexively. Frequent or weak protests can brand a contractor as adversarial. Many experienced firms protest sparingly but decisively when thresholds are met.
- Preserve internal evidence immediately. Retain proposal drafts, compliance matrices, evaluator questions, and correspondence. These materials are critical if a protest proceeds.
- Convert feedback into specific corrective actions. Translate debrief insights into:
- Revised proposal templates
- Updated compliance checklists
- Improved past performance narratives
- Stronger risk mitigation language
- Update competitor intelligence. Debriefings often reveal how competitors are positioning themselves. Capture this information for future capture planning.
- Close the loop with the customer (when appropriate). When no protest is filed, a professional thank-you and continued engagement reinforces maturity and positions your firm for future work.