The GNPN Steering Committee is the main governing body of the GNPN and participates in setting directions, policies, and operating procedures. GNPN Steering Committee members include one voting member for each of the three U01 projects, the voting member NIGMS Project Coordinator, and one non-voting member representing the affiliate members of the non-profit and for-profit sectors. The non-voting member is nominated by the steering committee and must be approved by NIGMS.

The Steering Committee is chaired by one of the voting members of the three U01 projects and nominated by the voting members of the committee. The chair must be approved by NIGMS. The chair will serve a renewable 1 year term. The current steering committee members are Sean Brady (chair), Vernon Anderson, Lars Steinmetz, and Christina Smolke.

Among other duties listed in RFA GM-15-001, the GNPN Steering Committee organizes and runs annual scientific meetings of the GNPN. They communicate the scientific and technological achievements of the GNPN to the scientific community through this website, reports, publications, meeting presentations, and more.

The GNPN External Scientific Advisory Committee (ESAC) consists of senior scientists appointed by the GNPN Steering Committee and approved by NIGMS. They meet at the annual GNPN Scientific Meetings, and assess the progress of the GNPN in meeting its goals and milestones. They advise the GNPN on proposed goals, milestones, and distribution of resources for the next year. The ESAC's findings guide the GNPN on how best to leverage resources and knowledge as a group, to achieve the greatest impact on and accelerate contributions to the field of natural product discovery.