Free template
A free terms of reference template in Word for a steering committee or project board, with purpose, decision rights, membership, quorum and reporting laid out.
By Christopher Fagan, Managing Partner, PEF Consulting Partners
A note before you start
Steering committees go wrong in two ways: they turn into a status update nobody needs, or they cannot make a decision because the right person is not in the room. Terms of reference fix both, provided they say plainly what the committee decides, what it does not, and what happens when a member cannot attend.
Christopher Fagan, Managing Partner, PEF Consulting Partners
Agree the terms of reference at the first meeting and minute the approval. Keep membership small, with a named deputy for each member who can make decisions in their place. Write the decision rights and tolerances precisely, set a quorum, and say which papers arrive and when. Review them at each stage gate or whenever the programme changes shape.
[Organisation name] | Version 0.1 | [Date] | Owner: [Name, role]
Why the committee exists, in two or three sentences.
[The steering committee gives direction, makes decisions outside the delegated tolerances of the programme director and is accountable to [board or executive] for the programme delivering its business case.]
| The committee will | The committee will not |
|---|---|
| Approve stage gates and the go live decision | Manage day to day delivery |
| Decide on changes outside tolerance | Replan workstreams in the meeting |
| Resolve escalated risks and issues | Duplicate the project board |
| Hold the benefits owner to account | Approve spend within delegated limits |
| Role | Name | Deputy | Decision rights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair (sponsor) | |||
| Senior user | |||
| Senior supplier | |||
| Finance representative | |||
| Programme director (attends, does not vote) |
[The quorum is the chair or deputy plus two other voting members. Decisions are made by consensus; where there is none, the chair decides and any dissent is minuted. Decisions outside the authority of the committee are escalated to [board].]
| Dimension | Delegated tolerance | Above tolerance goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Time | ||
| Cost | ||
| Scope | ||
| Quality | ||
| Benefits |
| Item | Arrangement |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly, plus at each stage gate |
| Papers issued | Five working days before the meeting |
| Standing agenda | Decisions needed, dashboard, risks above threshold, benefits, change requests |
| Minutes and actions | Issued within two working days |
| Secretariat | Programme management office |
[These terms of reference will be reviewed at each stage gate and at least every six months.]
Template by PEF Consulting Partners, pefconsultingpartners.co.uk. Free to use and adapt.
Related reading: the RACI matrix template, the project charter template, questions every board should ask about a major programme, PMO setup and uplift.
A short document that sets out why a group exists, what it is responsible for, who sits on it, how it makes decisions and how often it meets. On programmes they are most often written for the steering committee and the project board.
The senior group that directs a programme: it approves stage gates, decides on changes outside tolerance and resolves escalated risks. It is chaired by the sponsor and should be small enough to make decisions in the room.
On many programmes they are the same thing under different names. Where both exist, the steering committee sets direction across several projects and the project board oversees one project within the limits the committee sets.
The sponsor, the person accountable for the benefits. A supplier or the programme director should not chair it, because the committee exists partly to hold them to account.
If your steering committee spends its time on status rather than decisions, start by rewriting the terms of reference and the agenda that flows from them.