(a) Agencies shall evaluate each potential contractor in terms of its—

(1) Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services;

(2) Specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required, including, where appropriate, experience in energy conservation, pollution prevention, waste reduction, and the use of recovered materials;

(3) Capacity to accomplish the work in the required time;

(4) Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules;

(5) Location in the general geographical area of the project and knowledge of the locality of the project; provided, that application of this criterion leaves an appropriate number of qualified firms, given the nature and size of the project; and

(6) Acceptability under other appropriate evaluation criteria.

(b) When the use of design competition is approved by the agency head or a designee, agencies may evaluate firms on the basis of their conceptual design of the project. Design competition may be used when—

(1) Unique situations exist involving prestige projects, such as the design of memorials and structures of unusual national significance;

(2) Sufficient time is available for the production and evaluation of conceptual designs; and

(3) The design competition, with its costs, will substantially benefit the project.