What should be in a past performance narrative?
A past performance narrative should identify the contract by name, number, and value; the customer with a live contact; the scope of work in language matching the current solicitation; the outcomes achieved; and the CPARS rating or reference-letter grade.
Past performance is often 15-30% of a Best Value evaluation and is the single most-cited losing factor when small businesses lose to bigger primes. Getting past performance narratives right is high-leverage work.
Every past performance entry should include: contract name and number, customer agency (with active point-of-contact name, title, email, and phone — CO must be reachable), contract type (FFP, T&M, CPFF, IDIQ task order, etc.), period of performance (start and end dates), contract value (base + all options exercised), and scope of work described in language that mirrors the current solicitation. If the current RFP mentions "cybersecurity assessment of federal information systems," your relevant past performance narrative should use those exact terms — not "IT security audit," which is functionally equivalent but scores lower on keyword-matching evaluations.
Beyond the identifying data, the narrative itself should be 200-500 words per contract and answer four questions: (1) What was the challenge? (2) What was your specific role? (3) What did you deliver, in measurable terms? (4) What was the outcome or rating? Numbers matter: "reduced response time by 47%," "delivered ahead of schedule by 3 weeks," "achieved 100% acceptance on all deliverables." Vague statements ("delivered high-quality work") are treated as noise.
Include the customer's assessment when you have it. If you have a Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPARS) rating on the federal contract, cite it and include the summary text. If you have a reference letter from the customer, mention it and be prepared to provide on request. For non-federal past performance, propose a reference-letter equivalent from the customer PM.
Choose relevance over recency. A 4-year-old contract that closely matches the current scope beats a 6-month-old contract in a different domain. Evaluators want to see that you have done THIS kind of work, at THIS scale, for THIS type of customer — not just that you've done work recently. Include 3-5 references (per typical RFP requirements); include one that closely matches size, one that closely matches scope, and one that closely matches customer type if you can.