Roles and Responsibilities in Project Steering Committees

Project steering committees are used for project governance, though their functioning has received little research attention. This study establishes roles and responsibilities of project steering committee members. Based on interviews with project steering committee members and project managers, backed by literature, we define five roles: representing funders, representing users, representing suppliers, representing the support organization of project deliverables, and quality assurance. Members’ roles help identify positions in the project steering committees and individual responsibilities, linking the temporary and permanent organizations. If trust and shared goals are present among project steering committee members, clear responsibilities sharpen decision-making, build commitment, and prevent relationship conflict, thereby improving the chance of project success.