Tom Loosemore: behind the scenes of the Universal Credit Reset

Tom Loosemore of Public Digital was instrumental in the capital R Reset of Universal Credit.

In this interview, he tells Caroline there were no beanbags, but a lot of multi-D.

This interview adds nuance and richness to the picture sketched in our previous Universal Credit episodes. Some of the key insights include:

• Fundamental problem of the original approach was thinking of Universal Credit as a technology challenge rather than a complex policy, operational, and design challenge
• The first phase of system design suffered from incorrect data models, overly complex contracting arrangements, and thousands of untested assumptions
• Reset team created a small, multidisciplinary team, outside main DWP building to establish psychological safety
• Clear ministerial outcome statement ("more people in more work more of the time") provided crucial North Star
• Testing real service with 100 users through creative use of secondary legislation before wider rollout
• Radical shift was to understand that the core feature of Universal Credit was how to cope with change of circumstances, not signing on or signing off
• Senior leaders like Neil Couling protected teams from political interference while maintaining ministerial accountability
• Adaptable culture allowed 9-10 policy/technology changes daily during COVID crisis
• Digital transformation requires outcomes focus, multidisciplinary teams, and continuous testing of assumptions
• System proved sustainability by withstanding unprecedented change in both demand and policy over time

Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers....

While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right.

If you want rigorous reporting on Robodebt, we recommend the work of Rick Morton at the Saturday Paper, Chris Knaus and Luke Henriques-Gomes at the Guardian, Ben Eltham at Crikey, Julian Bajkowski at The Mandarin, and of course, the Robodebt Royal Commission itself.

Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at [e-mail].

Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music.

'Til next time!