How-To
Establish a TAM Steering Committee
A TAM Steering Committee can help provide strategic level oversight and facilitate resourcing for TAM. This How-To Guide provides four steps on assembling a committee and getting it off the ground.
Determine the scope and objectives of the committee
What is the goal and mission of this committee? What specific objectives should this committee accomplish throughout the year? Use the TAM program goals and objectives to support this activity. If it does not exist, make one of the goals to create one.
Select the members of the committee
Typically, steering committees are made up of executive and senior leadership. Consider who should participate in the steering committee and what the role of each individual member should be. Also consider what specific influence is needed to accomplish the objectives established in the first step. Does the agency need people with decision-making authority? Does it need people with the ability to follow-though on policies and initiatives? Should you have outside partners represented (e.g., FHWA Division TAM lead)?
Determine meeting schedule and specific tasks
This step should determine the frequency of committee meetings, taking into account the availability of the members selected to participate. It should also determine the specific tasks the steering committee should accomplish, especially in the first few meetings. Having meetings too frequently may lead to members not showing up. Having meetings too infrequently may lead to slow advancement of TAM progress.
Develop a steering committee charter
It is necessary to document all the information about the steering committee in a charter. The charter should include at a minimum: scope and objectives, members, roles, and a meeting schedule. Sometimes a charter is created prior to the committee creation. If this is the case, the steering committee should review and edit the charter so that they own the responsibilities.
Develop a communication plan
This activity will focus on how this committee communicates with other committees and with the agency leadership. It should articulate the regular set of reporting and how best to ensure that it gets the necessary attention to advance TAM.