Once bids are open, someone has to decide who builds the project. The two dominant approaches are low-bid selection and best-value selection, and the choice between them shapes the entire procurement process.

Low-bid selection is simple: award to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder. Public owners often have no choice; state law may require it for publicly funded construction. The rationale is that public money should go where it's most efficient, and a competitive market with complete documents produces fair, comparable prices.

Best-value selection adds other factors to the equation. Price still matters, but qualifications, schedule, technical approach, safety record, and past performance can all influence the decision. Private owners have full discretion. Some public agencies also use best-value for specialized or complex work where the lowest bidder's technical capability genuinely matters.

A bid evaluation matrix makes best-value selection structured and defensible. Each criterion is assigned a weight, each bidder receives a score in each category, and the weighted totals produce a ranking. This isn't just good practice; it's often a procurement requirement for publicly-funded projects.

The architect's role is to advise, not to decide. The architect prepares the bid tabulation, may participate in evaluating qualifications, and makes an award recommendation to the owner. The owner makes the final decision.