Senior Review Board (SRB)

A Senior Review Board (SRB) is a project-specific departmental body that supports the Project Leader in the successful delivery of the capability for which an investment project has been established. The term belongs to the Department of National Defence (DND) and its governance of capital-equipment projects. A DND evaluation of acquisition effectiveness uses this definition in its description of the SRB (DND evaluation report).

The SRB provides management oversight once a capital-equipment project enters the Options Analysis phase. It reviews progress and performance against approved scope, cost and schedule baselines, and it endorses key project documents. It is an internal project oversight and endorsement body. It is not a procurement evaluation committee or a source-selection board, and it does not evaluate supplier bids (DND audit of the preliminary requirement development process).

How the SRB oversees a project from Options Analysis onward

The SRB is established at the beginning of the Options Analysis (OA) phase. From that point it oversees project development and management. The board is expected to meet at least annually to assess progress and performance against the approved scope, cost and schedule measures for the project.

The SRB is chaired by the Project Leader. The Project Leader represents either the project sponsor or the project implementer, depending on the phase the project is in.

Who sits on a Senior Review Board

The minimum membership of an SRB is set out in DND's audit of its capital-equipment requirement process. It includes representatives from:

• the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff (VCDS)
• the Assistant Deputy Minister (Finance)
• the Commander of the Navy
• the Commander of the Army
• the Commander of the Air Force

Additional members are determined by the Project Charter, so the composition of a board can differ from one project to the next (DND audit).

Project documents the SRB endorses

Several foundational project documents require SRB endorsement. These include the Project Charter, the Strategic Context Document (SCD) and the Preliminary Statement of Operational Requirements (SOR). The Preliminary SOR sets out the operational requirement that later shapes what the Crown asks the market to deliver, so SRB endorsement is a formal checkpoint on how that requirement is framed.

Where the SRB sits in the DND approval path

The SRB is one step in a longer approval chain. The DND acquisition-effectiveness evaluation describes the SRB as endorsing an option before it goes to the Defence Capability Board (DCB) for approval (DND evaluation report).

CanadaBuys guidance on agreements with DND also reflects the SRB. It lists "Obtain approval (SRB and SPAC)" as a project activity, with the Project Manager identified as responsible (CanadaBuys: agreements with the Department of National Defence).

What the SRB means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

The SRB sits on the government side of the process. Suppliers do not bid to it, because it oversees and endorses projects rather than evaluating bids. Its endorsements shape the project documents, requirements and approvals that DND works from on capital-equipment projects.

For a bid team, the practical value is in reading a DND capital project correctly. An SRB reference in project material points to an investment project in development under DND governance, with scope, cost and schedule baselines under formal review. The term is specific to DND and CAF capability-development projects. It is not a standard clause in ordinary federal solicitations.