Good practice

Digital Literacy Exchange Program (DLEP)

Canada · Ottawa · See the Canada profile

Canada's national digital literacy programme (CAD $47.1M) reached 650,000+ Canadians from 9 underserved groups over 2018–2025 through 50+ funded organisations; Phase 2 exceeded its 100,000-participant target by 150%, per ISED formal evaluation.

CAD $47.1M

Programme funding

650,000+

Canadians reached (2018-2025)

+150%

Phase 2 over its 100,000-participant target

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
Period: 2018-2025
Keywords: Multiple vulnerable groups, digital literacy, seniors, Indigenous peoples, newcomers, persons with disabilities, low-income, rural communities

Context

Canada's Digital Literacy Exchange Program (DLEP) funds organisations to deliver digital literacy training to underserved groups.

Results

The CAD $47.1M programme reached 650,000+ Canadians from 9 underserved groups over 2018–2025 through 50+ funded organisations; per an ISED formal evaluation, Phase 2 exceeded its 100,000-participant target by 150%.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-21
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) — accessed 2026-06-21
ISED – DLEP Evaluation Summary — accessed 2026-06-21
Healthy Aging CORE – DLEP profile — accessed 2026-06-21

Quality score: 88/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported

Top 18% in this catalogue (573 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Innovation level2/5

Simultaneously targeted 9 distinct vulnerability categories through a competitive NGO grant model; the COVID-19 pivot to online delivery cut cost-per-participant while nearly tripling Phase 1's projected participant count, demonstrating adaptive national-scale design.

Sustainability (ongoing)1/1

Operated continuously for 7 years across two sequentially funded phases (2018–2022 and 2022–2025), institutionalising digital literacy as a recurring federal commitment rather than a one-off pilot.

Evaluation evidence1/1

ISED's Audit and Evaluation Branch published a formal evaluation (2022) confirming Phase 1 reached 3× its projected participant target and documenting improved digital skills, confidence, and internet use among participants.

Demonstrated reach1/1

650,000+ participants trained across all 13 Canadian provinces and territories over 7 years, with Phase 2 exceeding its 100,000-participant target by 150%.

Documented learning1/1

Evaluation documented that online delivery reduced per-participant cost and tripled reach, providing a transferable lesson for federal digital literacy funding models in comparable countries.

Cite this

Evidoria. Digital Literacy Exchange Program (DLEP). Persistent ID: 52353c56-ab34-4dc4-8bb8-57bff81ef1dd.

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