Setting the terms

Apparently, there's a crucial bit missing from AGIA - how do you decide who gets the contract based on the proposals that are submitted? When you need someone to pave your driveway, you probably just get a couple of bids and take the lowest. But with all the factors surrounding a gas pipeline, low bid probably won't get you where you need to be.

I don't know how to resolve this issue but I did hear one interesting thought today: the conditions for different entities should be different. For instance:

• If Exxon wants to be the winning bidder, make them - finally - pay the fishermen in the Gulf of Alaska who still haven't got their money from the 1989 spill.
• If BP wants to be the winning bidder, make them spend more money on safety and corrosion prevention.
  

The list could be longer, of course, but you get the idea.