Norfolk Network connections: one thing leads to another

Here’s a brief success story, thanks to Norfolk Network and Lucy’s genius for making connections.

You can see at least three connections in this picture: NN ambassador and apprenticeships champion Antony Howell, New Anglia LEP’s chairman Andy Wood and Hethel Innovation Centre. But there are lots more connections in this picture that you can’t see: past, present and future.

The story begins about four years ago. At the time most of my company’s business was in Westminster. The upside was the endless diversity – from the surreal corridors of the Cabinet Office to the research councils and the physics of the universe; from the warrens of the Treasury to the wild open spaces of Dartmoor and its prison fortress. The downside – apart from the awful train journeys – was that I knew very little about our Norfolk economy. I wanted to find out what’s happening here, on my doorstep, so I joined Norfolk Network.

Lucy introduced me to East Publishing; they sent me to meet two PhD students who’d won an entrepreneur prize to visit the Caribbean (nice work if you can get it!). That story for Norwich Magazine led to a dream project for another publisher, identifying and writing stories about the Norfolk and Suffolk economy. And that connected me to Antony; I wanted to find out about the skills crisis and knew he’d have an expert view. He said: “You must talk to Andy Wood too….” so we arranged to meet at Hethel.

Meanwhile, Lucy told me about a new NN member, photographer Gary John Norman – and this is the connection from the past. He’d been a student of mine, almost twenty years before; it was wonderful to catch up again. He set up this photoshoot at Hethel, with Antony and Andy. Since then we’ve done several assignments together and hope to do many more.

And the connections that followed on from there? Too many to describe here: the guys at The Point; more connections with East Publishing and Hethel; Norwich Research Park… the list goes on. Of course, the more I find out about Norfolk business, the more I want to know. Thank you, Lucy, for making those connections possible.

Written by Jane Chittenden