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SteerCo meeting agenda template
Most steering committees run on a ritual: forty minutes of slides, five minutes of decisions, and a sponsor checking their phone. This agenda flips the order so the meeting earns its calendar slot.
Why the order matters
A steering committee exists to make decisions that the project manager cannot make alone: money, scope, priorities and risk appetite. If the agenda spends its energy on status, the decisions get squeezed into the final five minutes, when half the room is already leaving.
So put the decisions at the top, send the status as a pre-read, and treat the meeting as a working session rather than a performance.
A 60-minute SteerCo agenda you can copy
Use these timings as a starting point and trim them to suit your governance. The point is the sequence, not the stopwatch.
- 0-5 min: Welcome, apologies, quorum check and confirmation that everyone has read the pre-read.
- 5-10 min: Overall RAG and the one-sentence reason for it, plus forecast end date and cost against baseline.
- 10-35 min: Decisions needed. Each one has options, a recommendation, the consequence of delay and a named decision owner.
- 35-45 min: Top risks and issues the board can influence. Five at most, each with the specific ask.
- 45-52 min: Change requests, benefits and anything that touches scope or budget.
- 52-60 min: Recap of decisions made, actions with owners and dates, and the date of the next meeting.
The pre-read that makes it work
Circulate a one-page summary at least two working days ahead. If a number is in the pre-read, nobody should need it read out loud in the room. Ask members to send questions in advance so the meeting spends its time on the hard ones.
- One-page summary: overall RAG, RAG by area, trend since last time.
- Decision papers: one short page per decision, options and recommendation.
- Budget view: approved, spent, committed and forecast, matching the cost lines.
- Top risks and issues, each with owner and what you need from the board.
- Minutes and actions from the previous meeting, with status.
Running the room
The chair keeps the agenda; you keep the facts. Agree in advance who can decide what, so that nobody discovers mid-meeting that the person who needs to approve the change is not there.
Write decisions down in the room, in plain words, and read them back before you close. A decision that is not recorded will be re-made at the next meeting.
- Pre-brief the sponsor on anything red, so it is never a surprise.
- If a decision cannot be made, record who will make it and by when.
- Park detailed discussions for a side session with the right people.
- Send the minutes within one working day, with decisions at the top.
Keeping the pack and the agenda in step
The agenda, the pre-read and the minutes should tell one story. In Senshin the weekly and SteerCo reports draw on the same RAID log and plan as the rest of the project, so the pack you send matches the record behind it.
Keep this live, not in a spreadsheet
Senshin keeps your plan, RAID, budget and reports in one place, so this stays current without a weekly copy-and-paste. A 14-day trial, with sample projects.
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Frequently asked questions
What should be on a steering committee agenda?
Overall status in a sentence, decisions needed, top risks and issues the board can influence, changes to scope or budget, and a recap of actions. Put decisions before status so they get proper time.
How long should a SteerCo meeting be?
Sixty minutes is enough for most projects if the pre-read is circulated in advance. Larger programmes may need ninety, but a longer meeting usually signals a pre-read problem.
How often should a steering committee meet?
Monthly suits most projects, with a shorter fortnightly slot during recovery or at critical milestones. Match the rhythm to how quickly decisions are needed.
Who attends a SteerCo meeting?
The sponsor as chair, senior users or business owners, a supplier or finance representative where relevant, and the project manager. Keep it to people who can make decisions.
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