Terms of Reference Template
A ready-to-use Terms of Reference (ToR) in Word for a project board, steering group, committee or working group, setting out what it's for, who sits on it and how it makes decisions. It's included in our PMO Governance Pack.
What's inside: 10 sections
- Version control and distribution
- Purpose, background and strategic alignment
- Mandate, objectives, scope and success criteria
- Membership, member types, deputies and changes to membership
- Governance and decision-making: authority, quorum, voting, conflicts of interest and escalation
- Meetings: frequency, agenda, papers, minutes and a standard agenda template
- Reporting and communication
- Conduct and behaviours, including confidentiality
- Review and lifecycle, including when the group closes
- Approval and sign-off
How to use it
Use a Terms of Reference whenever a project needs a board, steering group or committee. Agree it at the start, have the sponsor approve it, and use its standard agenda for every meeting. Review it at the dates it sets, and close the group formally when its work is done. For how a project board makes its key decisions, read our guide: How to run a PRINCE2 stage gate review.
FAQs
What format is it?
A Word document (.docx) you can edit and brand as your own.
When do I need a Terms of Reference?
Whenever a project has a governance group, such as a project board, steering group or committee. It makes clear what the group can decide, who must attend and how decisions are made.
Is the Terms of Reference template free?
It's part of the PMO Governance Pack, alongside the other core project documents. Our PMO Health Check is free.
What's in the PMO Governance Pack
Templates
- Project Initiation Document (PID) template
- RAID log
- Terms of Reference
- Statement of Work
- Operational Readiness Checklist
- Handover to business as usual template
- Project Closure Report
Guides
- Read Me First
- Getting Started
- Implementation Guide
- Naming Conventions Guide
Get the Terms of Reference and the full governance set
The PMO Governance Pack includes this template and the core documents to run your projects consistently.