What Are the Key Differences between a Steering Committee and an RFP Project Team?

Concept

The fundamental distinction between a Steering Committee and a Request for Proposal (RFP) Project Team lies in their organizational altitude and primary function. A Steering Committee operates at a strategic governance level, serving as the directional authority for a project or initiative. It is composed of high-level stakeholders, senior leaders, and executives who are tasked with ensuring a project’s objectives remain tightly aligned with the broader goals of the organization.

This body provides oversight, guidance, and makes high-level decisions, effectively acting as the project’s strategic compass. Its concern is the “why” and “what” of the endeavor ▴ why the project is necessary for the business and what strategic outcomes it must achieve.

Conversely, an RFP Project Team is a tactical, operational unit formed for a singular, specific purpose ▴ to manage the RFP process from inception to conclusion. This team is concerned with the “how.” Its members are subject matter experts, procurement specialists, and functional managers who execute the day-to-day tasks of drafting the RFP, evaluating vendor responses, conducting due diligence, and ultimately recommending a solution. While a Steering Committee sets the destination and approves the map, the RFP team is responsible for navigating the terrain, managing the logistics of the journey, and reporting on the progress. The project team works within the guardrails established by the committee, translating strategic imperatives into executable, detailed actions.

A Steering Committee provides strategic direction and governance, while an RFP Project Team executes the tactical procurement process.

The Governance Nexus

A Steering Committee functions as a critical governance layer, bridging the gap between executive vision and project execution. Its authority is derived from the seniority of its members, who are empowered to allocate resources, approve significant changes to scope or budget, and resolve conflicts that the project team cannot handle on its own. This group does not manage the project; it steers it.

The committee’s perspective is intentionally broad, focusing on risk mitigation, stakeholder alignment, and the realization of business value across different organizational units. It ensures that the project, and by extension the RFP process, does not deviate from its intended strategic path or create unintended consequences for other parts of the business.

The Execution Engine

The RFP Project Team is the engine of the procurement process. Its mandate is temporary and task-oriented, focused on delivering a well-researched and defensible vendor recommendation. This team’s composition is functional, bringing together the necessary expertise from IT, finance, legal, and the specific business unit that will use the procured product or service. They are deeply immersed in the details of the project requirements, vendor capabilities, and scoring criteria.

Their success is measured by the thoroughness of their evaluation, the clarity of their documentation, and the quality of the final recommendation they present to the decision-makers ▴ often the Steering Committee itself. The team is responsible for the operational integrity of the RFP process, ensuring it is fair, transparent, and rigorous.

Strategy

The strategic interplay between a Steering Committee and an RFP Project Team is a formal relationship of oversight and execution, designed to maximize the probability of a successful procurement outcome that delivers on organizational goals. The strategy hinges on a clear delineation of duties and a structured communication protocol. The Steering Committee’s primary strategic role is to charter the project, defining its scope, strategic objectives, and the metrics for success before the RFP team even begins its work. This initial guidance is the most critical strategic contribution, as it frames the entire procurement effort and prevents the project from operating in a vacuum.

The RFP Project Team’s strategy, in turn, is to operate effectively within these predefined boundaries. The team develops a tactical plan for executing the RFP process, including timelines, evaluation frameworks, and communication plans. Their strategic value lies in their ability to translate the high-level goals articulated by the Steering Committee into a detailed requirements document and a rigorous evaluation process. This ensures that vendor proposals are judged not just on technical merits or price, but on their ability to meet the core business needs identified by the organization’s leadership.

Effective strategy requires the Steering Committee to define the “what” and “why,” empowering the RFP Project Team to determine the “how.”

Defining Roles and Responsibilities

A core component of the strategy is the formal definition of roles. The Steering Committee is accountable for the business case and the ultimate success of the project from a strategic standpoint. The RFP Project Team is responsible for the integrity and execution of the procurement process itself. The following table illustrates the distinct strategic functions of each group.

Communication and Escalation Pathways

A well-defined communication strategy is essential for the system to function. The RFP Project Team provides regular, structured updates to the Steering Committee, reporting on progress, highlighting potential risks, and presenting key findings. These updates allow the committee to monitor the project without getting involved in the day-to-day minutiae. A formal escalation path is also critical.

When the project team encounters an issue that falls outside its mandate ▴ such as a request for a significant budget increase or a conflict between stakeholder groups ▴ it is escalated to the Steering Committee for resolution. This structure ensures that the project team can remain focused on its tasks, while strategic decisions are made by the appropriate level of leadership.

Execution

The execution phase demonstrates the practical application of the distinct roles of the Steering Committee and the RFP Project Team. This phase is characterized by a series of formal handoffs and decision gates that ensure the procurement process is both efficient and aligned with strategic objectives. The process begins with the Steering Committee’s formal approval of a Project Charter, a document that outlines the business need, budget, and expected outcomes, effectively giving the green light for the formation of the RFP team.

Once chartered, the RFP Project Team takes over the operational execution. This team’s first task is to develop a detailed project plan, which includes the RFP timeline, evaluation criteria, and team member responsibilities. This plan is often presented back to the Steering Committee for endorsement.

Following this, the team executes the core activities of the RFP process ▴ drafting the document, issuing it to potential vendors, managing vendor communications, and conducting a thorough evaluation of the submitted proposals. This is a period of intense, focused work for the project team, requiring deep subject matter expertise and diligent project management.

Operational Deliverables and Decision Points

The execution process is marked by key deliverables from the RFP Project Team that serve as critical inputs for the Steering Committee’s decision-making. The following table outlines this operational flow, showing how the tactical work of the project team feeds into the strategic oversight of the committee.

Team Composition and Mandates

The effectiveness of this dual structure depends heavily on having the right people in each group. The composition of each body is purposefully different to reflect its distinct function.

• Steering Committee Members ▴ This group must include individuals with the authority to make decisions that may impact the entire organization. Typical members include:
  • The Project Sponsor (often the chair)
  • Chief Financial Officer (or representative)
  • Chief Information/Technology Officer (or representative)
  • Heads of affected business units
  • Legal or compliance representatives
• RFP Project Team Members ▴ This team requires a blend of skills to manage the process and evaluate the substance of the proposals. Typical members include:
  • A dedicated Project Manager
  • Procurement or sourcing specialists
  • Technical subject matter experts (e.g. IT architects, engineers)
  • Financial analysts
  • Representatives from the end-user community

The Steering Committee’s mandate is governance and strategic alignment, while the RFP Project Team’s mandate is process execution and recommendation. This clear separation of powers, connected by a structured reporting and escalation framework, is the key to executing a successful and strategically sound procurement.

Reflection

Understanding the distinction between these two entities moves beyond simple organizational theory. It prompts a critical examination of an organization’s internal decision-making architecture. How does your own operational framework delineate between strategic governance and tactical execution? The effectiveness of any major initiative, particularly a complex procurement, is contingent on this clarity.

The structures discussed here are components within a larger system of corporate governance. Their successful implementation reflects an organization’s maturity in aligning its operational activities with its strategic vision, ensuring that every project is not an isolated effort but a deliberate step toward a defined future state.