Affordable Internet Access
Connecting residents to affordable internet service in their area, including signing up for federal subsidies like the Affordable Connectivity Program.
The Digital Navigator Program is an effort funded by Los Angeles County to advance digital inclusion and digital equity—particularly for residents who have never had reliable home internet access. The Program provides funding for community-based organizations to hire Digital Navigators to serve their own communities. The County supports the cohort of Navigators by providing training and ongoing coordination.
Digital Navigators work on a case-by-case basis to fully understand a person’s digital skills needs and identify the right solutions. Digital Navigators provide community members with ongoing support in the following four areas:
Connecting residents to affordable internet service in their area, including signing up for federal subsidies like the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Helping residents access internet-enabled devices including refurbished computers or other affordable options.
Providing technical assistance or digital skills training and connecting residents to more advanced classes offered by other service providers.
Building trusted relationships with residents to support their long-term digital skills journey.
An older adult who lives alone wants to use Zoom to call their family across the country but doesn’t know how. The older adult calls the Digital Navigator hotline, and chats with a Digital Navigator about his needs. The Digital Navigator determines that they'll need to assist in-person and schedules a time to visit later that day.
The Digital Navigator arrives at the older adult’s home and introduces themself at the front door.
During the in-person meeting, the Digital Navigator teaches the older adult how to use Zoom, provides written instructions for reference, and practices multiple Zoom calls with them.
With the skills he learned during their session, the older adult is able to use Zoom to call his kids and grandkids.
The Digital Navigator heads off to their next assignment and plans to call the older adult the following week to check in and see that their needs were met. The older adult has the contact info for the Digital Navigator for any further support.
The County will partner with existing Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to build and host a cohort of Digital Navigators throughout LA County. The County will award grants to CBOs for hiring and overseeing their own Digital Navigators. This partnership model allows trusted community leaders to utilize their local knowledge and relationships to best deploy Digital Navigators, with funding and larger programmatic support coming from The County. The County plans to identify host CBOs in the following neighborhoods:
CBOs interested in applying for a Digital Navigator grant can view the application here.
Applications are due August 1, 2022.
Any Los Angeles County resident or business can reach out to a Digital Navigator to receive support over the phone. At launch, in-person support services will be available in the following neighborhoods:
The County is in the process of identifying CBO partners and plans to launch the Digital Navigator Program in Fall 2022. At that time, Digital Navigators will be accessible to residents through:
The Digital Navigator Program is in its early implementation stages, and the service is not yet available to residents. For more major program milestones and to see when a Digital Navigator may be available to you, see our project timeline:
June 2022 | Program Manager Application Released | [Apply] |
July 2022 | Program Manager Application Deadline | |
July 2022 | Host CBO Application Released | [Apply] |
August 2022 | Host CBO Application Deadline | |
September 2022 | County Awards Host CBO Grants | |
October 2022 | Digital Navigator Recruitment, Hiring, and Training | [Apply] |
Fall 2022 | Digital Navigator Program Launch |
The County is currently seeking a non-profit organization that specializes in digital inclusion to serve as the Digital Navigator Program Manager through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process.
Learn more about the Program Manager roleThe County seeks Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to build and host a cohort of Digital Navigators (DNs) throughout LA County. The County will award grants to CBOs for hiring and overseeing their own Digital Navigators.
Applications are due August 1, 2022.
Learn more about becoming a host