SEWP VI Past Performance: What Counts and How to Present It

Past performance is one of the most consistently mis-presented elements of a SEWP VI quote. Holders list their largest contracts and assume volume reads as relevance. It does not. Evaluators score past performance on relevance to the specific order, recency, and the quality of the record — and the presentation is what makes the score. GovCon Architect is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NASA or the SEWP Program Office. Program information is published at the NASA SEWP site.

Relevance beats volume

The past-performance reference that scores is the one that looks like the order being quoted. A massive contract in an unrelated technical area is less persuasive than a smaller contract that mirrors the order's scope, technical area, and labor categories. Select references for relevance first, magnitude second. A reference that demonstrates you delivered the same kind of work to the same kind of customer is the reference that earns the score.

Recency is a quiet gate

Most orders specify a recency window for past performance — often three to five years. A reference outside that window, however impressive, may not count. Track the recency of your references against the likely windows and refresh your reference library so you are never assembling relevant references from scratch under deadline.

Specificity is the presentation

A past-performance reference that says "provided IT support services" scores lower than one that says "delivered a 24/7 help desk for 2,500 users at [agency], sustaining a 98% first-call resolution rate over a 36-month period of performance, with zero SLA defaults." Specificity — scope, scale, customer, duration, outcomes — is what converts a reference into evidence. The evaluator is looking for proof you can deliver; the specific reference is that proof.

Address risk honestly

If a reference carries a known issue — a cure notice, a dispute — address it in the narrative rather than hoping the evaluator does not notice. A reference with an honest, specific explanation of a resolved issue often scores better than a reference with a gap the evaluator has to investigate.

GovCon Architect's capture environment maintains a structured past-performance library tied to your holder profile, so the references selected for each order are the most relevant, most recent, and most specifically presented — assembled in minutes rather than reconstructed under a quote deadline.