MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender)
An award criterion that evaluates tenders based on a combination of quality and price factors, rather than lowest price alone. May include criteria like technical merit, delivery time, and environmental performance.
In Detail
The Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) is the overarching concept under EU procurement law for determining which tender offers the best value for money. Under Directive 2014/24/EU (Article 67), all contract awards must be based on MEAT, which can be identified using one of three approaches: best price-quality ratio, cost-effectiveness analysis (including lifecycle costing), or price only. In practice, when practitioners refer to 'MEAT criteria,' they typically mean the best price-quality ratio approach, where tenders are evaluated against a combination of qualitative and financial criteria.
Common qualitative criteria used in MEAT evaluations include technical quality, methodology, team qualifications and experience, delivery timelines, innovation and added value, environmental and social considerations, after-sales service, and risk management approaches. Each criterion is assigned a weight that reflects its relative importance, and tenders are scored against a predetermined methodology (often using 0-10 scales or percentage-based scoring). The financial element is typically evaluated using a formula that converts price differences into comparable scores.
The MEAT approach represents the EU's deliberate policy direction away from lowest-price awards and toward value-based procurement. Research has shown that lowest-price awards can lead to poor outcomes — including substandard quality, supplier financial distress, and higher whole-life costs — while MEAT evaluations that properly weight quality factors tend to deliver better long-term value. The 2014 Directives strengthened this direction by introducing lifecycle costing as an explicit option and by encouraging the inclusion of environmental and social criteria.
Practical Context
How it works in practice
For suppliers, understanding the MEAT evaluation methodology is critical to competitive bidding. The scoring approach directly determines how to allocate effort between the technical proposal and the pricing strategy. In a tender where quality carries 70% of the weight, a supplier with a technically strong but slightly more expensive proposal may score higher overall than one offering the lowest price with a weaker methodology. Bid teams routinely model different price-quality scenarios to optimize their overall score. TenderRadar extracts and displays MEAT criteria and weightings from tender notices, giving suppliers immediate visibility into the evaluation approach before they invest in bid preparation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is MEAT the same as best price-quality ratio?
Not exactly. Under the 2014 Directives, MEAT is the overarching concept that encompasses three approaches: best price-quality ratio, cost-effectiveness (lifecycle costing), and price only. However, in common usage, 'MEAT' often refers specifically to the best price-quality ratio approach, as this is the most frequently used method that distinguishes itself from simple lowest-price evaluation.
How do contracting authorities score MEAT criteria?
Scoring methodologies vary but typically involve evaluators independently scoring each qualitative criterion on a predefined scale (e.g., 0-10 or 0-100), then applying the published weightings to produce a weighted quality score. The price element is converted to a score using a formula (commonly relative to the lowest price). The quality and price scores are then combined to produce a total score for ranking.
Can environmental and social criteria be used in MEAT evaluation?
Yes. The 2014 Directives explicitly allow environmental characteristics, social considerations, and innovation criteria as part of MEAT evaluation, provided they are linked to the subject matter of the contract. Examples include lifecycle carbon emissions, fair trade certification, use of renewable energy, and employment of disadvantaged workers. These criteria must be objectively assessable and disclosed in the procurement documents.
Related Terms
Explore related concepts
Put this knowledge into action
Find government tenders matched to your business with AI.