date: Tue, 05 Sep 2000 09:34:45 +0100 from: Trevor Davies subject: MetO to: g.bigg@uea,k.briffa@uea,p.brimblecombe@uea,s.dorling@uea,k.heywood@uea, m.hulme@uea,t.jickells@uea,p.jones@uea,m.kelly@uea,p.liss@uea, j.palutikof@uea,a.j.matthews@uea,m.penkett@uea,j.plane@uea, d.stevens@uea,c.vincent@uea,a.j.watson@uea,j.johnson@uea,g.bentham@uea, t.osborn@uea Please do take every opportunity to express your enthusiasm to your MetO colleagues for a move to Norwich. The site will be on the NRP - near the hospital. A link with ENV (& MTH) is one thing we have in our favour of course, but please remember that only a small % of the MetO staff engage in "research". The Chief Exec., in particualr, wishes to project the "business" dimension of the MetO, rather than the research dimension. So, do indicate excitement to your reseearch colleagues about the prospect of them coming here, but please also mention that the locals are well aware of the business imperative - & will be geared up to help them. The NRP site is good in that regard - not too close to an academic establishemnt, so they will be able to project the business image. The MetO have problems retaining staff (esp IT) in the Thames Valley. Staff retention is a much smaller problem here - the Norwich factor (this is also true for IT staff - the local businesses confirm this (& of course UEA produces >100 IT graduates a year, a high proportion who want to stay). Transport is important - 2 trains per hour to London, upgrading of A11, Norwich-Amsterdam (VERY important - 15 mins to Airport, negligible check-in time, 35 min flying time to Amsterdam, etc). New IT trunking will be in place (committed!) by the time that the MetO will be here - so IT communications will be as good as anywhere else in the country, & will easily cope with MetO requirements. BUT the most important thing is to generate a good feeling about Norwich/Norfolk - great place to live, 19 min avge journey time to work, cheap/plentiful housing (yes- really, cf to Bracknell - house prices are 30%). But you all know why you love to live & work here - get some of that across to your colleagues. Gossip is now rife in the MetO - your colleagues will be talking to others in the MetO canteen & the local pubs. Everything is being done at the "official" level, but it is important that the hearts & minds of the "ordinary" members of staff at the MetO are won. Let them know the area wants them here. Trevor ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Professor Trevor D. Davies Dean, School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ United Kingdom Tel. +44 1603 592836 Fax. +44 1603 507719 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++