Answer
What is past performance and why does it matter?
Past performance is your track record on similar prior work. It's a major evaluation factor, so new contractors should build it through subcontracting, small contracts, and commercial references.
Evaluators use past performance to predict how you'll perform on the new contract. Relevant, recent, high-quality past performance is one of the strongest discriminators in a proposal.
If you're new to federal work, build it deliberately: subcontract to a prime, pursue smaller or simplified-acquisition contracts, and document strong commercial references. Over time, good CPARS ratings become a competitive asset.
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