Closing the digital divide requires more than individual training, it demands that social service agencies themselves have the capacity to deliver digital skills education effectively to their clients. Since 2008, digitalLIFT has provided direct training to thousands of learners through our partners. Recognizing that agencies are on the frontlines of this work, since 2022 we’ve focused on training partner organizations, giving them the tools, curriculum, and support they need to run their own digital inclusion programs. With essential services increasingly moving online, the need for this kind of capacity building has never been greater.
digitalLIFT’s role in the ecosystem is unique and critical:
- Partner-Centered Capacity Building: We don’t just teach digital skills, we train organizations to teach their clients, helping agencies scale programs sustainably.
- Comprehensive, Modular Curriculum: Our courses cover everything from foundational digital literacy to topics like internet safety, digital citizenship, and sector-specific skills for healthcare, aging services, and libraries.
- Staff and Volunteer Development: We equip managers, trainers, and volunteers with practical tools for program planning, execution, and community engagement.
- Tailored, Community-Focused Support: Trainings are adapted to meet the needs of the populations each agency serves, ensuring culturally responsive and accessible programming.
Other Providers in the Digital Inclusion Ecosystem
While digitalLIFT leads the charge in training social service agencies directly, several other organizations support the broader digital inclusion ecosystem in complementary ways:
- National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA): Advocates for digital equity policy, develops frameworks like Digital Navigators, and connects practitioners nationwide. NDIA focuses on research, advocacy, and peer networking, tools that complement digitalLIFT’s hands-on agency training.
- NTEN: Offers certifications and fellowship programs that provide professional credentials and mentorship for digital inclusion practitioners. These programs are more formal and individual-focused, whereas digitalLIFT builds agency-wide capacity.
- Arizona State University & The Marconi Society: Provide in-depth leadership courses for program planning and broadband initiatives. These are intensive, academic programs, differing from digitalLIFT’s practical, applied training for frontline staff.
- Goodwill Digital Navigator Certificate: Teaches individuals to support digital literacy in their communities. Unlike digitalLIFT, it does not provide comprehensive training or ongoing support to partner agencies.
- Older Adults Technology Services (OATS): Specializes in training older adults directly and licenses curriculum for community programs. digitalLIFT works across age groups and focuses on empowering agencies to deliver training at scale.
- Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment: Provides skill assessments and certificates for learners. While useful for benchmarking, it does not equip agencies to run their own programs.
Why digitalLIFT is Essential
digitalLIFT is at the heart of the ecosystem supporting social service agencies. By building organizational capacity, providing tailored curriculum, and developing staff and volunteers, we ensure agencies can deliver high-quality digital inclusion programs that reach more people in more communities. Our work enables agencies to move beyond one-off training sessions, creating sustainable, scalable digital inclusion programs that make a real difference in closing the digital divide.
Ready to strengthen your agency’s impact? Reach out today and let’s explore how digitalLIFT can help your team deliver lasting digital inclusion for the communities you serve.
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