Section L And Section M In Plain English

The Short Version

• Section L is the instructions: what to send, in what order, in what format, and by when.
• Section M is the scoring: the factors the government grades you on, and how much each one counts.
• Write to Section M, in the shape Section L asks for.

Where L And M Come From

Many federal Requests for Proposals (RFPs) use the uniform contract format in FAR 15.204-1. It splits a solicitation into lettered sections, A through M. The last part, Part IV, "Representations and Instructions," holds Sections K, L, and M.

Section L, Instructions, conditions, and notices to offerors or respondents. (FAR 15.204-5(b))

Section M, Evaluation factors for award. (FAR 15.204-5(c))

Not every solicitation uses the letters. A buy of commercial products or services often puts the instructions in FAR 52.212-1 (Instructions to Offerors) and the scoring in FAR 52.212-2 (Evaluation), or in an addendum to them. Same idea, different place.

What Section L Tells You

FAR 15.204-5(b) says Section L holds the instructions "to guide offerors or respondents in preparing proposals." It can tell you to send the proposal "in a specific format or severable parts," such as:

1. Administrative
2. Management
3. Technical
4. Past performance
5. Cost or pricing data

Look in Section L for the page limits, the font and margin rules, how many volumes to send, how to send them, and the due date and time.

What Section M Tells You

Section M must "identify all significant factors and any significant subfactors that will be considered in awarding the contract and their relative importance" (FAR 15.204-5(c)).

• Every factor and significant subfactor that will affect the award, and how important it is, "shall be stated clearly in the solicitation" (FAR 15.304(d)).
• The solicitation must say whether all the factors other than price, put together, are significantly more important than price, about equal to price, or significantly less important than price (FAR 15.304(e)).
• The rating method does not have to be shared (FAR 15.304(d)).
• The agency evaluates proposals "solely on the factors and subfactors specified in the solicitation" (FAR 15.305(a)). If it is not in Section M, it is not scored.

How To Use Them Together

1. List every factor and subfactor in Section M, most important first.
2. For each one, find the Section L instruction that says where and how to answer it.
3. Build your outline in Section L's order, with Section L's headings.
4. Under each heading, answer the Section M factor it feeds, with proof: past projects, named people, and numbers you can back up.
5. Check the page limits and format rules last, before you send.

When L and M do not line up, or a rule is not clear, ask the contracting officer in writing before the questions deadline.

The FAR Overhaul

The FAR is being rewritten (the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul). Agencies that use the new Part 15 text by deviation have different section numbers: the uniform contract format is at 15.109, and Sections L and M are described in 15.109-4. The idea is the same. The solicitation in front of you always controls.

How GradeTheBid Helps

When you upload a solicitation, GradeTheBid builds the compliance matrix and a Section L to Section M map: which instructions count toward which score, with the page for each one.