A governance committee fails in two ways: it becomes a gate that slows everything, or a forum that reviews and never decides. The fix is a narrow remit and fast, predictable decisions.
Design choices
- Tier by risk — low-risk uses follow a checklist and need no meeting; only high-impact cases come to the committee.
- Fixed turnaround — a committed number of working days for a decision, with a default answer if nothing is said.
- Clear membership — business, technology, security, legal and risk, with a named chair who can decide.
- Written decisions — what was approved, on what conditions and when it will be reviewed.
What to review regularly
- Live systems and their owners.
- Incidents and near misses.
- Changes in the regulatory picture that affect existing approvals.
Measure the committee by time to decision and by how many systems it has approved with conditions, not by number of meetings.