What is a Digital Champions programme?

It’s hard to generalise as the beauty of the programme is that it’s so adaptable and flexible. But in general:

  • We train people in your organisation to become Digital Champions. 
  • They get the confidence, skills and resources they need to teach digital skills.
  • The Champions then help other people learn digital skills, so they can thrive in a digital world.

We don’t train your end learners. We train your Champions. And they go on to train hundreds of people.

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Who are Digital Champions and who do they help?
  • The Champions could be staff or volunteers. They might already be in your organisation or recruited specifically.
  • The people they help might be customers, colleagues, service users or beneficiaries of your charity. Some of our courses encourage people to help friends and family.
  • Champions don’t need to be technical wizards. They need to have okay digital skills – but it’s more important that they’re good listeners and patient teachers.
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A Champion at a charity

Dee is a volunteer at a community organisation that helps people get back into work after a long absence. She's a member of the Digital Champions Network.

She runs a group that meets weekly for 8 weeks, helping beneficiaries get the skills and confidence to find and apply for work - which is all online these days.

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A Champion at a GP Surgery

Marie works in an admin role at a GPs where some patients struggle to use NHS digital services. She's a member of the Digital Champions Network.

Once a week, she runs a drop-in, where she helps people learn to use the NHS app and re-order prescriptions online. When she’s dealing with people on the phone, she knows how to help them remotely.

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A Champion helping family

Lazlo works at a large media company. He’s done the Inspire course and made a specific pledge to help his mum learn how to bank online.

Once a week, they do half an hour together. Lazlo now realises how vital this skill is, and understands more about how to help his mum. His pledge is complete when his mum feels confident banking online.

Why do our programmes work?

We have more than 25 years experience designing and running Champions models and we've worked with hundred of clients. Whether you're running a programme across a borough, a business or in a small community group, we will make it work! We provide:

  • A ready-to-go, structured programme. You can tailor and adapt it, for example you can decide which courses you want for your Champions, but the framework you need is all there.
  • Award-winning Learning: our courses are CPD certified and 98% of our Champions would recommend them
  • Planning Support & Monitoring Tools: we provide wrap-round support to help you set up and run the programmes and tools to measure progress and impact. 
What will a Digital Champions programme do for you?
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For your organisation

  • Flexible, adaptable & tailored to your goals
  • Building on strengths & skills you already have
  • Embedded in your organisation
  • Cost-effective, and the investment stays within your organisation
Our clients
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For the Champions

  • A genuinely rewarding experience, helping people learn crucial skills.
  • CPD certified qualifications.
  • Improved digital skills and confidence.
  • Improved transferable “soft skills” like active listening and coaching skills. 
Our Networks
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For Beneficiaries

  • Life-changing digital skills
  • Taught in a way that suits them: people with low digital skills prefer to be taught by people (not online) over a sustained period of time.
  • Usually delivered by organisations/ individuals they already know and trust.
Facts about Inclusion
Is everyone who completes the training a "Digital Champion"?

We offer two main kinds of training and there are different kinds of Champion:

  • Digital Champion's Training. This is usually for people who work/ volunteer in the community, in a role that is focused on helping others. They train on the Digital Champions Network, and will be part of a project/ organisation that has digital skills training as one of its goals.
  • Inspire Training. This is usually part of a CSR initiative run by a company for its employees, helping them understand the importance of digital inclusion and encouraging them to take steps to help others. It’s not part of their formal role and they usually pledge to help people they know already, like friends and family.

Sometimes, people who've completed Inspire are called "Champions", other times they're called something different like "Digital Friends" or "Volunteers". Many of our bigger clients use a mixture of Champion and Volunteer training and we can help you decide which Network is right for your organisation.

You can also find out about the Digital Champions Network in detail and Inspire in detail. 

Try a course for free and see what our learning is like

Free Digital Essentials Course

How can a Digital Champion approach help your organisation?

Take our online assessment to find out. 

It takes 10 minutes. There are no strings attached. At the end, you get a tailored report with recommendations and a free, practical guide to running a Digital Champions project.    

 

Get started with our interactive planner.