Governance and stakeholder ownership
Event decision-rights matrix: who decides what
Your committee keeps revisiting choices that someone thought were already settled.
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The short answer
A decision-rights matrix lists the recurring decisions in your event and names, for each, who recommends, who must agree, who decides, who carries it out and who is only told. One decider per decision is the rule that stops reversals.
It differs from a RACI matrix: RACI assigns tasks, while this assigns the authority to say yes, no or not yet.
Pick the decisions that matter
Do not list everything. Choose the 10 to 15 decisions that cost money, change scope, commit your name or are hard to reverse.
Typical ones are programme theme, speaker invitations, venue and supplier appointment, registration fees, budget changes, public statements and cancelling or moving the date.
The five decision roles
- Recommend: prepares the proposal and options.
- Agree: must say yes before the decision stands, for example finance on anything affecting the budget. Keep this list short.
- Decide: the one role that makes the call.
- Carry out: does the work once decided.
- Informed: told afterwards, so they do not find out from a supplier.
Set limits, not just names
Decision rights often depend on size. A project lead may approve a small variance while the committee approves larger ones. Write the limit in figures that your organisation has agreed, and name who can change it.
Check your constitution, board delegation or company approval policy before you set limits. Your matrix should sit inside those rules, not replace them.
Agree it, record it, use it
- Draft the matrix with the secretariat and chair.
- Show it to each named Decider and ask them to confirm or reject their rows.
- Have the committee adopt it at a meeting and minute it.
- Record each real decision in a decision log.
- Review after the first month and after any change in committee members.
Worked example · Fictional example
Rights for a fictional professional body's conference
Fictional organisation and figures. The amount below is illustrative, not a recommended limit.
Persatuan Fiktif Akauntan Cawangan plans a two-day conference. The honorary secretary kept being asked to confirm speakers, but the programme sub-committee believed it decided.
The matrix named the programme lead as Decider on speaker invitations, with the chair as Agree only for keynote speakers. A budget variance up to an illustrative RM3,000 stayed with the treasurer. Anything above went to the committee.
| Decision | Recommend | Agree | Decide | Informed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keynote speaker invitation | Programme lead | Chair | Programme lead | Secretariat |
| Venue contract signature | Secretariat | Treasurer | President (authorised signatory) | Committee |
| Budget variance up to RM3,000 (illustrative) | Project owner | None | Treasurer | Chair |
| Postpone the event date | Chair | Treasurer | Committee | All members |
Use this yourself
Event decision-rights worksheet
Copy the table and fill one row per decision. Each row needs exactly one name in Decide.
- Is there exactly one Decide per row?
- Is every Agree there because it is necessary, not courtesy?
- Are limits written in figures and approved by the right body?
- Does each Decider know they hold the row?
| Decision | Recommend | Agree | Decide | Carry out | Informed | Limit or condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (decision) | ||||||
| (decision) | ||||||
| (decision) |
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- Your committee is small and already trusts a clear chair.
- Delegations in your constitution or policy are current.
- Decisions are few and mostly made at scheduled meetings.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Two organisations co-host and each assumes it decides on brand, money and speakers.
- Decisions are reopened after suppliers have been told.
- Nobody has time to turn a long discussion into a written authority table.
Want decision rights set before the next dispute?
A conference project lead can facilitate the discussion that settles who decides what, write the matrix with your chair and secretariat, and then run each decision to a recorded close. Final authority stays with the bodies named in your own rules.
Questions organisers ask
How is this different from RACI?
RACI shows who does and answers for each task. A decision-rights matrix shows who has authority to approve or reject a choice. Use both, with RACI for tasks.
Can two people decide together?
Name one Decider and make the other an Agree. Joint deciders tend to produce delay or disagreement later.
What if a Decider is unavailable?
Name a deputy and the maximum days to wait. See the approval turnaround agreement.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.