Met Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme: SRO appointment letter (April 2021)
Source: data.gov.uk (2022-06-21)

Government Major Projects Portfolio Senior Responsible Owners. The government is committed to publishing lists of the SROs for projects on the GMPP.
To address this commitment the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) publishes lists of the SROs responsible for government major projects.
This list may be searched to locate the names of Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) of the Department's projects with fall within the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

Nick Smallwood 
Chief Executive 
1 Horse Guards Road 
London  
SW1A 2HQ 
T: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
E: xxx@xxx.xx 
Sarah Munby 
Permanent Under-Secretary of State 
1 Victoria Street 
London  
SW1E 0ET 
T: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
E: xxx@xxx.xx 
Charles Ewen, Met Office Executive Director, Chief Information Officer & IT Director 
Senior Responsible Owner – Supercomputing 2020+ Programme 
Met Office 
Fitzroy Road 
Exeter 
EX1 3PB 
xxx@xxx.xx 
9th April 2021 
APPOINTMENT AS SENIOR RESPONSIBLE OWNER (SRO) FOR MET OFFICE 
SUPERCOMPUTING 2020+ PROGRAMME 
This letter formalises your appointment as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) of the Met 
Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme. This project sits on the Government Major 
Projects Portfolio (GMPP). These responsibilities form part of your role as Executive 
Director, Chief Information Officer & IT Director for which you are accountable to Penny 
Endersby, Met Office Chief Executive, who is accountable to Sarah Munby. The 
responsible Minister for your project is Amanda Solloway, Parliamentary Under-
Secretary of State for Science, Research, and Innovation at BEIS. The work of the 
project is overseen by the Department’s Executive Committee and its supporting sub-
committees. Your role as SRO will be reflected in the objectives you agree with Penny 
Endersby, Met Office Chief Executive. 
As SRO you have personal responsibility for delivery of the Met Office Supercomputing 
2020+ Programme and will be held accountable for the delivery of its objectives and 
policy intent; for securing and protecting its vision, for ensuring that it is governed 
responsibly, reported honestly, escalated appropriately and for influencing 
constructively the context, culture and operating environment of the project.   
 

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This will be a part-time role accounting for 80% of your working week. 
The programme objectives, scope and timescales are: 
•
Replace supercomputing capability for a 10-year period in line with the critical
path to maintain essential resilient Met Office services.
•
Increase supercomputing capacity by six-times (6x) for the initial five years and
at least three-times (3x) for the final five years, to continue to sustain trusted,
authoritative weather and climate input for the UK, globally.
•
Optimise productivity and the enablement of socio-economic benefits through
advancements in exploitation consistently throughout the investment period in
line with investment objective.
•
The programme will operate from August 2018 until June 2032.
Proposed changes to the project scope which impact on this intent or benefits 
realisation must be authorised using the project’s governance framework, in conjunction 
with the Department’s governance framework and may be subject to further levels of 
approval. Further details are set out below.  Your objectives and performance criteria 
with respect to this project are reflected in your performance agreement form, agreed 
with Jo Shanmugalingam, Director General, Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation 
at BEIS. 
Extent and limit of accountability 
Finance and Controls 
The overall budget for the Met Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme is set out 
below and in your letter of Delegated Authority; this is issued to you annually by the 
Department’s finance team and may be updated from time to time.  This letter is the 
means by which you are held to account for the budgets and other resources for which 
you are responsible. 
The allocation of Departmental resources is subject to review each year during business 
planning and as SRO you are expected engage actively in the business planning 
process.  The Department explicitly recognises that you will need to balance your 
responsibilities in respect of the project with your responsibilities relating to the wider 
work of the department as part of BEIS’s cadre of senior leaders.  Decisions on 
resource allocation will reflect the need to strike a balance across the entirety of BEIS’s 
portfolio of projects.   
HMT spending controls will apply on the basis set out within BEIS’s delegated authority 
letter.  Where the Project exceeds the delegated authority set by HMT, the appropriate 
Treasury approval process will apply. The details must be agreed with your HMT 
spending team. You should consult departmental finance colleagues on how to go 
about this.  

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You should also note that where expenditure is considered novel, contentious, 
repercussive or likely to result in costs to other parts of the public sector, HMT approval 
will be required, regardless of whether the project expenditure exceeds the delegated 
authority set by HMT. If in doubt about whether approval is required you should, in the 
first instance, consult your Finance Business Partner and the BEIS Implementation and 
Delivery Unit before raising with the relevant HMT spending team. 
The overall budget for the project is £1.242bn excluding VAT. Your staffing and project 
team support budget is £203.6m broken down as follows: 
Activity 
Budget 
Exploitation projects 
£142.6m 
Build projects and programme team costs 
£48.6m 
Optimism bias 
£12.3m 
The current approved expenditure figure is £37.1m which provides cover to 31st March 
2022. In moving towards Build Factory Acceptance Test completion, you should be aware 
of the following conditions/recommendations: 
a) To continue engaging with BEIS Digital Assurance Team.
b) To continue engaging with NCSC.
c) HMT is notified and consulted in advance of any public communications regarding
the Met Office and programmes related to this investment.
d) Met Office to provide 6 monthly updates against the social value commitments
commencing on 1st September 2021 until 1st August 2022. Quarterly updates
should be provided thereafter in line with condition.
e) Met Office to provide quarterly updates to CO against the KPIs, commencing 1st
August 2022. This should include a detailed update against the social value
commitments and outline any initiatives which have strengthened the social value
offering over the contract lifetime.
f)
The ongoing contract be reviewed with the Met Office by GDS and BEIS Digital
annually at future Portfolio Assurance Group meetings, to assure that the service
is proceeding satisfactorily from a technology standpoint, performance, reliability,
vendor support/performance and value for money.
You should operate at all times within the rules set out in Managing Public Money. In 
addition, you must be mindful of, and act in accordance with, the specific Treasury 
delegated limits and Cabinet Office controls relevant to the Met Office Supercomputing 
2020+ Programme. Information on these controls can be found here: Cabinet Office 
controls. 

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Delegated Departmental / project authority 
You are authorised to approve expenditure in line with your delegated authority letter. 
•
you are authorised to approve expenditure of £1.242bn.
•
you are authorised to agree project rescheduling within 2 months of agreed
milestones but rescheduling beyond that must be agreed with the IPA.
You should use your project’s governance framework, in conjunction with the 
Department’s governance framework, as the means by which any necessary 
authorisation is sought for any changes to your project’s scope, milestones or 
scheduling. The Departmental Integrated Assurance and Approvals Strategy (IAAS) 
sets out the limits and conditions of any approvals as well as the process to seek 
approval to materially change the scope of an approved project. This may include 
recommending the need to either pause or terminate the project where necessary in a 
timely manner.  
Where issues arise which you are unable to resolve within delegated responsibilities, 
you are responsible for escalating these issues to the relevant governance body such 
as P&R, Accounting Officer and HMT in a timely manner. This includes making any 
such recommendation to pause or terminate the project as required. 
Project Status   
The Project Status at the date of your appointment is reflected in the most recent 
quarterly return on the project to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority / monthly 
delivery confidence assessment to ExCo. This is the agreed position as you assume 
formal ownership of the project.  Project progress is reviewed regularly by the 
Department’s Executive Committee or its supporting committees.  You should take 
active steps to ensure you escalate in a timely manner any significant issues that will 
materially affect the delivery of the project for which you are responsible as set out in 
the business case. 
To facilitate progress monitoring and to ensure that appropriate support is provided, you 
are required to provide accurate, relevant and timely performance reporting to P&R and 
ExCo committees as set out in the BEIS Performance Reporting Framework. If the Met 
Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme is not already reporting, you are responsible 
for making contact with the Corporate Reporting team (xxx@xxx.xx) 
to set up monthly performance reporting via ORB (Online Reporting in BEIS) for the 
project/programme. 

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Professional Development and Support 
As an SRO, it is expected that you will continue your on-going professional 
development, including through IPA mandated training. Simon Hulme as Head of 
Project Delivery Profession will be able to assist you in in this process. 
As SRO of a GMPP project you are required to attend the MPLA as soon as reasonably 
practicable. The BEIS Implementation and Delivery Unit will provide you with the 
necessary details and support you in your application. 
You should consult the SRO page on the Project Delivery Hub which has a number of 
resources available to support you. There is a Guide and Toolkit which is designed to 
help you lead your project by explaining the component parts of the role and your 
responsibilities. There is also the IPA document, The Role of the SRO. It sets out: 
•
the key requirements and accountabilities of the SRO role, also drawing on
the project delivery functional standard, as well as the Osmotherly rules;
•
how the SRO’s role relates to other key leadership roles in major projects,
particularly the accounting officer and the project director;
•
best practice on appointments, development and support for SROs - drawing on
the experience of existing project leaders across government.
The SRO page also links to The Art of Brilliance. This is designed to practically help you 
deliver your SRO role. 
BEIS also has a Delivery Leadership Group for SROs which can provide peer support 
for your development. 
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you success in your role as SRO. 
Please return a signed copy of this letter to the BEIS Implementation and Delivery Unit 
(xxx@xxx.xx). 

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Signatures 
Nick Smallwood 
Chief Executive, Infrastructure and 
Projects Authority 
Sarah Munby 
Permanent Secretary, BEIS 
I confirm that I accept the details of my role, including my personal accountability for 
development, delivery and implementation as detailed in the letter above.  
Name of SRO: Charles Ewen 
Signature of SRO: ______________________________ 
Date: 1st April 2021  

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SRO Role and Responsibilities  
Annex A 
The Role of the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) 
You are personally accountable for ensuring the ongoing delivery of the Met Office 
Supercomputing 2020+ Programme. You are responsible for securing the 
resources necessary for the success of the project within those available to BEIS 
and for ensuring that the related implementation and transition activities realise the 
agreed objectives and benefits. In doing so you should balance the need to support 
the Accounting Officer to help BEIS reach an affordable settlement which reflects 
the department’s priorities and to deliver value for money across BEIS. 
You will be personally accountable to Parliamentary Select Committees and be 
expected to explain the decisions and actions you have taken. This could include 
where a Minister has intervened to change the project during the implementation 
phase in a way which has implications for the cost and/or timeline of implementation. 
You will be able to disclose your advice about any such changes.  
You must ensure the effectiveness of the governance, assurance and project 
management arrangements and maintain them throughout the life of the project. You 
should adopt best practice and be prepared to justify any deviation from it, in line with 
guidance published by the Cabinet Office, specifically the IPA’s Government 
Functional Standard for Project Delivery. 
An SRO will: 
•
Be a visible, engaged and active project leader, not a figurehead;
•
Deliver the agreed outcomes and benefits;
•
Create an open, honest and positive culture committed to delivering at pace;
•
Challenge senior officers and Ministers when appropriate and escalate quickly;
•
Provide appropriate support, steer and strategic focus to the Project Director and
ensure that they have a clear and current letter of appointment; and
•
Have sufficient time, experience and the right skills to carry the full responsibilities
of the role.
Specific SRO accountabilities:  
Ensure that the project is set up for success 
•
Ensure that the project is set-up to make an unambiguous and demonstrable link
to strategic policy;
•
Translate this policy intent into clear deliverables which are established and
agreed with senior stakeholders;
•
Carry out a robust and commercially viable options appraisal, which balances risk
with opportunity, as part of initial project feasibility;
•
Establish a firm business case for the project during the initiation/definition phase
and ensure that any planned change continues to be aligned with the strategic
need;
•
Identify and secure the necessary investment for the business case (this includes
both budget and operational resource);

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•
Design and implement robust, appropriate and transparent project governance;
•
Build strong and effective relationships with key stakeholders, justifying their trust
and retaining their confidence, and obtain their commitment to benefits realisation.
Ensure that the project meets its objectives and delivers the projected benefits 
•
Gain agreement to the project objectives and benefits amongst stakeholders,
including Ministers where appropriate;
•
Understand the broader government perspective and its impact on the project;
•
Ensure the strategic fit of the project objectives and benefits;
•
Agree a clear and simple approach to performance management and monitor
delivery of the objectives and benefits, taking appropriate action where necessary
to ensure their successful delivery.
Develop the project organisation structure and plan 
•
Ensure that there is a coherent organisation structure and appropriately detailed
project plan;
•
Build the right team, securing necessary resources and skills and providing clear
lines of accountability;
•
Provide appropriate support, steer and strategic focus to the Project Director.
Monitor and take control of progress 
•
Monitor and control the progress of the project at a strategic level, being honest
and frank about project progress, risks and issues; Ensure that any changes to
agreed project benefits are flagged appropriately within project governance and
that the business case is updated accordingly (throughout project lifecycle);
•
Ensure that the integrity of the project is maintained and speak truth to power –
including to Parliamentary Select Committees;
•
Communicate effectively with senior stakeholders regarding project progress and
provide clear, appropriate and delivery-focused decisions and advice to the Project
Director.
Ensure problem resolution and referral processes are appropriate and effective 
•
Identify, understand and drive the successful mitigation of project risks;
•
Escalate serious issues quickly and with confidence to senior management and/or
Ministers;
•
Develop strong and effective engagement between the project team and its
stakeholders and sponsors;
•
Ensure that communication processes are effective and that the project’s
objectives and deliverables continue to be consistent with the organisation’s
strategic direction.
Ensure that the project is subject to review at appropriate stages 
•
Recognise the value of robust project review and ensure it occurs at key points in
the project lifecycle, particularly at the initiation stage;

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•
Make certain that any recommendations or concerns from reviews are met or
addressed in a timely manner;
•
In the event of a “red” or “amber-red” review or a red or amber-red quarterly
GMPP review rating, ensure that the Performance and Risk and Projects and
Investments Committees are made aware of the situation.
Manage formal project closure 
•
Formally close the project and ensure that the lessons learned are documented
within the final evaluation report and disseminated to key stakeholders;
•
Ensure that the post implementation review takes place and that the output is
communicated to the appropriate stakeholders;
•
Ensure a plan for both long term benefits realisation and on-going sustainability is
agreed with key stakeholders as part of the process of moving the project to
“business as usual”.