Launched in 2021 as part of the French recovery plan (France Relance) and with support from the European Union through NextGenerationEU, the Conseiller numérique program is a cornerstone of France’s national digital inclusion policy. It provides free, personalised support and group workshops for people struggling with digital tools, delivered by trained digital educators known as conseillers numériques.
These professionals help people build digital skills by:
- Introducing people to digital devices: smartphones, tablets, computers, etc.
- Supporting their daily digital needs: working remotely, consulting a doctor, selling an item, buying online, using generative artificial intelligence.
- Raising awareness of digital challenges and promoting informed, responsible digital behaviour: verifying information sources, protecting personal data, mastering social networks, understanding AI-related challenges, tracking their children’s education, amongst others.
About the French Conseiller numérique program
Coordinated by the Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires (ANCT) and the Banque des Territoires, the program provides funding for both the training and part of the remuneration of 4.000 digital professionals deployed across the country through annual grants distributed to their employers (local authorities and associations).
Since its launch, the program has reached over 3.5 million people and directly contributes to the European Union’s Digital Decade policy programme and its objective of ensuring that 80% of the population has basic digital skills by 2030. As of 2024, France stands at 60%, ranking 12th amongst EU countries.
A flexible program tailored to local needs and target audiences
The thousands of professionals deployed through the Conseiller numérique program are employed by a wide range of organisations: local NGOs, municipal and departmental authorities, large nonprofit networks, social and solidarity economy (SSE) organizations, and others. Through free collective workshops or one-on-one support, they directly contribute to the reinforcement of beneficiaries’ digital competencies, as defined in the EU Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp).
Highly mobile, they rely on existing venues to reach their audiences. In fact, 75% of them work across multiple sites (8 locations on average), such as different municipalities, France Services offices, social and job centers, town halls, hospitals, nursing homes, SMEs, etc. Furthermore, recruiting organisations have flexibility in hiring, allowing them to respond to local needs. This results in a wide diversity of profiles, across all educational levels (high school diploma or below, two-year degrees, three-year degrees or higher, in equal proportions) and ensures gender parity within the community. It also allows for rapid adaptation to emerging needs, illustrated by the increasing number of workshops held in schools around AI awareness or in local employment offices for job seekers, in coordination with France Travail.
Why is this a good practice?
The initiative’s impact is significant. In addition to reaching many beneficiaries, an impact study of the Conseiller numérique program published in 2024 revealed that:
- nearly 99% of surveyed beneficiaries said the support they received met their expectations;
- 93% are now able to complete digital tasks they couldn’t manage before;
- 60% report feeling more confident and less stressed when using digital tools, indicating that the program is helping to remove psycho-social barriers to digital engagement.
Strengthening and professionalising the digital mediation sector
The Conseiller numérique program has significantly boosted employment in the digital mediation field and has become a powerful lever for employment inclusion:
- 83% of positions created under the program were newly created;
- 48% of professionals were unemployed prior to being hired.
The program is helping to establish digital mediation as a recognised profession and is contributing to the broader development of the digital inclusion ecosystem in France. All professionals receive fully funded, mandatory training, both initial and ongoing. This training enhances their skills across a wide range of digital mediation topics, based on the European Commission’s DigComp framework, and offers them the opportunity to earn the professional title of Digital Mediation Space Manager (equivalent to a 2-year degree), significantly boosting their employability in the sector.
Figures to this date
- Over 4,500 professionals have completed training in the 1st of the 3 competence blocks constituting this professional title, along with the Pix digital skills certification, and 600 have completed the full training to obtain the complete certification (2nd and 3rd blocks) ·
- A catalogue of 20 thematic modules has also been created to better support specific audiences (e.g., people with disabilities or low literacy levels, refugees and asylum seekers) and cover key topics like cybersecurity, digital sobriety, digital parenting and artificial intelligence.
Since 2024, a network of 110 departmental coordinators has been deployed to structure and strengthen local digital inclusion ecosystems. A cross-cutting program aligned with other public policies. These professionals deployed through the Conseiller numérique program since 2021 are now well-identified in local communities and are increasingly partnering with local actors, thus contributing to other public policies:
- Partnerships with the Ministry of Labour to support job seekers, and with the Ministry of National Education by intervening in schools.
- Contribution to policies favouring the elderly and the most vulnerable populations (especially in rural areas and underserved areas).
- Involvement in the « Café IA » initiative led by the Conseil national du numérique (CNNum) to engage citizens in discussions about artificial intelligence.
This effort is backed by a dedicated training module, which equips professionals to lead public workshops and debates on AI-related issues. Departmental coordinators play a key role in facilitating these partnerships, maintaining close dialogue with stakeholders responsible for implementing public policies at a local scale.