The steering committee takes on particular importance when the project team is composed of people who are outsiders. If an outside body is commissioned to perform as the project team on a community assessment, the lack of insider knowledge on the part of team members may use them to miss or misinterpret important information about the community's history or values. They will also be unaware of any contentious issues about which community members are not speaking. Having community insiders on the steering committee helps compensate for such difficulties (see Figure 12-2).