Methods & Acknowledgements

This report combines research from many different sources, which are summarized below. It was compiled by Alyssa Levitz, Waldo Jaquith, and USDR but the underlying work was also done with the help of multiple volunteers and civil servants who can’t be publicly listed, but deserve credit for their work all the same.

We are indebted to the research that has come before us and are deeply grateful to those who have spent time speaking openly with us and given us the opportunity to support them.

• USDR partnerships on 16 projects with 10 states, including:

  • Consulting on PUA implementations

  • A Discovery Sprint to help a state understand their backlog

  • NJDOL Benefits Eligibility Tool

  • Vendor analysis for online appointment scheduling

• Interviews with:

  • Subject matter experts

  • NASWA

  • DOL and UI Leadership in 6 states, referred to as States A - F in this report

• California EDD and Nevada DETR Strike Team Reports on the UI systems

• Others’ detailed research:

  • “Centering Workers--How to Modernize Unemployment Insurance Technology” by Julia Simon-Mishel and Maurice Emsellem from Philadelphia Legal Assistance; Michele Evermore and Ellen LeClere from the National Employment Law Project; and Andy Stettner and Martha Coven from The Century Foundation.

  • “Story-driven experience research on pandemic unemployment” by Dana Chisnell of Project Redesign at the National Conference on Citizenship and Tara McGuinness of New America’s New Practice Lab

  • “Unpacking Inequities in Unemployment Insurance” by Monée Fields-White, Vivian Graubard, Alberto Rodríguez, Nikki Zeichner, and Cassandra Robertson from New America’s New Practice Lab