Test, Learn, Grow (TLG) is a new partnership between the Cabinet Office, Public Digital, New Local and the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford. It’s rare to leave a central government event feeling genuinely optimistic and energised, but this one hit different.
Coming from Capacity, a public service design agency based in the North, we live and breathe this work – in places often far from Whitehall. And while I’ve seen many reform programmes over the years, this one feels like it’s got the potential to shift how central and local government work with each other, and more importantly, how they work with people.
Setting the scene: Why now, and why this?
Ngaire Woods from the Blavatnik School framed the moment well: public services are in flux, leadership is changing, and what’s needed is a long memory and practical know-how. Their work focuses on three things that stood out:
- People – building public service as a vocation worth being proud of.
- Evidence – getting real about what works, and what doesn’t.
- Coalitions – creating unusual alliances to solve complex problems.
And this idea of coalition – across departments, sectors, and geographies – ran through the whole day.
In the fireside chat with Minister Georgia Gould (Cabinet Office), Feryal Clark MP (DSIT) and Jess Studdert (New Local), they talked about where TLG fits. This isn’t another pilot. It’s about changing the centre by starting from the ground up. It’s about missions that matter to people – not just government priorities – and devolving power to the people and places closest to the opportunities and challenges.
The programme will work with 10 places across England, building multi-disciplinary teams to address entrenched issues. Digital, AI and data are in scope from the start – not as an afterthought – with a commitment to do this work with places, not to them.
One standout quote:
“It will have failed if we ‘just’ do projects and don’t change things at the centre.”
That’s the ambition… to create a centre that enables, not blocks.
Test and Learn in action: Stories from the ground
We heard from teams already doing this work – from children’s safeguarding in Nottinghamshire to early years in Sheffield, to the 15-year evolution of Universal Credit.
Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership
Sam Harris and her team, with support from Public Digital, tackled a beast of a process (32,000 MASH referrals in a year), transforming it from risk-based to needs-led care. What stood out:
- Impactful change (32% reduction in referrals to CSC).
- Real culture shift … “faster, better, kinder.”
- Clear call to build governance that enables experimentation and makes space for people to lead.
Helen and Laurie described how TLG supported their trailblazer work to improve child development outcomes. A 4-week live test led to a 25% uplift in service take-up. What made the difference? Trust, time on the ground, and collaborative multi-disciplinary working.
Universal Credit
Lara and Philippa shared a deeply honest reflection on how a huge welfare programme eventually became a vehicle for test and learn. They spoke about:
- The power of starting small.
- Embedding outcomes (and how easy it is to lose sight of them).
- Local teams driving change, and the challenge of sustaining feedback loops across the system.
A message echoed throughout:
Change doesn’t happen in the centre. It happens in place. But the centre needs to change for that to be possible.
Nick Kimber: Holding the space for change
Nick, Director of Public Service Reform at the Cabinet Office, closed with both realism and ambition. He described TLG as a bridge – not a fancy one, but a pontoon bridge – flexible, light, and able to connect the centre with the edges of the system.
Two provocations landed strongly:
- Change the centre – most reform is driven from SW1, but it’s the places that carry the load. We need to create real-world alternatives to old rules.
- Involve people who do the work – people with “dirt under their nails” are the ones who’ll get this right.
He was clear: this isn’t just about tools or skills. It’s about reforming the culture of government. Creating conditions for trust, curiosity and shared purpose. And that takes time, consistency and political bravery.
What I’m taking with me:
- Momentum matters. Over 100 people in the room, doing this work, wanting to do more. The energy was real.
- Reform fatigue is real too. The same local teams often catch every reform agenda that lands. We’ve got to join things up better and shift from reform to people to reform with people.
- Resident voice must lead. This can’t just be a local vs central power play. If we’re serious about public service reform, we have to seed this into communities. What’s not working for them? What does better feel like?
- Data and AI can play a role – but only if they’re done with people, not to them. It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing AI as the answer to innovation in public services, when really, it’s just one of the tools. Rachel Coldicutt puts it plainly: “AI is computers doing more computery stuff.” It’s not magic. Public services are human services – built on trust, relationships and care. Used well, AI can help us work more effectively and spot patterns that matter. But if we don’t keep it in its place – as a means, not an end – we risk designing over people rather than with them. TLG seems to get this right, putting trust and partnership at the centre from the start.
And finally – a call to action:
- Build trust in your teams so you can hold risk together.
- Be brave. Create space. Rewire governance. Seek forgiveness, rather than permission.
- Convert the cynics – this moment feels different. Let’s not waste it.
- Start small, listen hard, and keep learning.
At Capacity, we’re all in on this. We’ve seen the difference test and learn can make. Now we have a shot at making it the norm, not the exception.
Let’s go.
