For consultants before the steering committee
Steering Committee Presentation Template
Three documents: a deck that opens with the decisions you need, a pre-read with a 60-minute agenda, and a finished example pack.
Steering committee 4 · 26 Aug (example)
Warehouse system rollout · 60 minutes · pre-read sent 21 Aug
- 1Decisions needed todayMove Depot 3 go-live to 12 Jan? Release $28,000 of contingency? Both recommended.
- 2MilestonesTwo done, one at risk, two on track, and Depot 3 slipped past peak
- 3Budget$628,000 forecast against $600,000 approved; $12,000 contingency left
- 4Top risks and escalationsThe carrier hasn't answered three requests. Ask: the sponsor calls by 29 Aug.
- 5Action logFour of five actions closed; the fifth is today's escalation
What you'll get
A steering committee deck that opens with the decisions needed
- A deck that opens with the decisions you need from the room
- Milestones, budget, top risks and the action log, a slide each
- A pre-read, a 60-minute agenda and a finished example pack
Before and after
Your status notes in. Decisions first out.
Depots 1 and 2 on track. Vendor's test environment came 9 days late, weekend work recovered 1 and 2 but not Depot 3 (20 Oct), and peak starts 1 Nov. Moving Depot 3 to 12 Jan would cost about $14k. Budget $600k, forecast $628k. Carrier still hasn't sent label details.
Slide 1: We need a decision today on Depot 3's go-live DEC-01 · Move Depot 3 go-live from 20 Oct to 12 Jan, after peak? Recommendation: [your recommendation]. Decider: [decider]. Slide 3: Depots 1 and 2 hold; Depot 3 can't safely go live on 20 Oct. Depot 3 go-live · baseline 20 Oct · forecast [date] · Slipped. Slide 4: Forecast is $28,000 over budget. Approved $600,000 · forecast $628,000 · variance +$28,000. Escalation: label details from the carrier. We need [who] to [act] by [date].
River fills only what your notes say. The recommendation and decider stay yours to write.
Why it works
What goes in a steering committee presentation?
A steering committee presentation exists to get decisions from the people who own the project's money, scope and dates. So this template opens with the decisions you need, before any progress update. Then come milestones against their baseline, the budget with contingency left, the top risks and escalations, a slide per decision with costed options, and the action log. The UK government's reporting guidance states the rule plainly: make requests for advice, direction and decisions explicit.
Escalate what falls outside the limits the committee set, and leave the rest to the team. The same guidance defines tolerance as the agreed deviation from a plan's baseline before you escalate to the next level of management. The template defines Green, Amber and Red against those limits. It also includes a written pre-read, sent three working days ahead, and a 60-minute agenda that spends the first 25 minutes on decisions. Members read the progress section beforehand, so the meeting isn't spent walking through slides.
The worked example is a finished pack for an invented warehouse system rollout, with two decisions, a budget table that adds up and one escalation. Paste your latest status report or notes, and River drafts the decisions slide first, then fills the rest from what you gave, with brackets for missing figures. The status report generator writes that weekly update from your notes. The RAID log template supplies the top risks and the decisions waiting on the committee.
What lands in your doc
What's inside the steering committee template
- Decisions first
Slide one lists each decision needed, your recommendation, the decider and why it can't wait. - Milestones against baseline
Approved dates beside forecasts, each marked Done, On track, At risk or Slipped. - Budget and contingency
Approved, spent, forecast at completion and variance, with one line explaining each variance. - Risks and escalations
The top risks from your RAID log with score and trend, and exactly what you need from whom. - A slide per decision
Background, two or three costed options, one recommendation, and what happens if nobody decides. - Pre-read, agenda and example
A cover email, a 60-minute agenda, a send checklist and a finished example pack.
How it works
From status notes to a steering committee pack
Open the template
Click Edit with AI. The deck, the pre-read and agenda, and the finished example open in River.
Paste your status notes
Optional. Paste a status report or your notes, and River drafts the decisions slide first, then fills the rest.
Fill the brackets
Add the figures and dates your notes didn't have, and write each recommendation you're ready to defend.
Send the pre-read
Walk each decider through their decision, then send the pre-read three working days before the meeting.
Questions consultants ask
Common questions
What is a steering committee presentation, and what goes in it?
A steering committee presentation is the pack that asks the people who own a project's money, scope and dates for the decisions it needs. Start with those decisions. Then give overall status with one reason, milestones against baseline, the budget, the top risks and escalations, a slide per decision, and the action log. Keep it to about ten slides.
How is a steering committee different from a project team meeting?
The team runs the work week to week and reports it in the weekly status report. The steering committee owns direction and money: it approves changes to scope, dates and budget, and resolves escalations the team can't. That's why its pack should ask for decisions rather than report activity.
How far ahead should I send the pre-read?
Three working days is a good default: enough time to read it, and not so early that the numbers go stale. Before you send it, walk each decider through their decision one to one, so nothing lands as a surprise in the room. Confirm each decider is attending, or has named someone to decide for them.
How do I show a slipped milestone?
Keep the approved baseline date, and put the forecast beside it marked Slipped, with one line on why and what it affects. Never overwrite the baseline, because only the committee can approve a new one. If the slip is outside the committee's tolerance, it becomes a decision on slide one.
How should I set the red, amber or green status?
Set it against the tolerances the committee agreed. In this template, Green is within them, Amber is outside them but recoverable by the team, and Red needs a committee decision. Always write one reason next to the color, because a color on its own starts an argument about the color.
How often should a steering committee meet?
Monthly is a common rhythm, or at each stage gate on shorter projects, with an extra meeting when a decision can't wait. Set the rhythm by when decisions are needed, not by habit. If two meetings in a row have nothing to decide, ask the sponsor whether a written update could replace the next one.
Is this a PowerPoint template?
No. It's a Word document laid out slide by slide: each section is one slide, with a title to write, the job the slide does and the table to fill. Copy each section into your firm's own slide template, so the pack stays on brand and the content is right before the design starts.
Your next step
More for your project
Ask for decisions, not nods
Open the deck with every slide in place, or paste your latest status notes and River drafts the decisions slide first.