The steering committee lays out the paths the Initiative’s activities will take, authorizes the choice of topics the Initiative addresses, is responsible for the selection of members of the various expert committees and for clarifying situations of conflicts of interest. It is charged with choosing authoritative and respected reviewers for the Initiative’s products and oversees the peer-review process through to incorporation of the reviewers’ comments in the final report. Likewise, processes proposed by the Initiative staff or members of its various committees are brought before the steering committee for its approval.