OKR 1: Expand Digital Navigation (DN) support to ensure we are reaching and empowering covered populations.
Work and Health Emerged as Critical Opportunity Areas
This year, we focused on deepening the reach and effectiveness of Digital Navigator support, especially in areas that matter most to residents’ daily lives. Through feedback from our partners and community members, two sectors emerged as critical opportunity areas: workforce development and healthcare. These domains impact nearly every aspect of life, and improving access in these areas has ripple effects that extend across families, neighborhoods, and communities.
In response, we began developing a digital equity roadmap—a searchable guide designed to help both Digital Navigators and community members easily locate relevant resources and programs. Whether someone needs help applying for a job, navigating a patient portal, or accessing a training course, this tool aims to connect them with trusted, up-to-date support. As we build it out, the roadmap also offers a clearer view of service gaps, helping us prioritize where new solutions or partnerships are needed most.
- Applying for a job
- Navigating a patient portal
- Accessing a training course
We also took steps to ensure residents can continue using their devices with confidence. We co-hosted three no-cost laptop diagnostic and repair clinics in partnership with Duke Energy, Moe Got IT, and E2D. These events provided residents with an opportunity to troubleshoot standard tech issues at no additional cost or with minimal barriers. In advance of each clinic, we reached out to people who had previously received a device from the CDE, ensuring those who needed help could access it directly. On-site Digital Navigators provided immediate support, and we also began building a referral list of trusted repair providers for more complex issues. Our team continues to receive training in basic device troubleshooting, enabling them to better support residents as the first line of help.
To bring these services even closer to where people live and work, we launched Digital Navigator Office Hours in four trusted, high-traffic community locations: two Community Resource Centers (CRCs) and two Goodwill Opportunity Campuses across Mecklenburg and Gaston counties. The CRCs, located in Charlotte’s Corridors of Opportunity, are especially impactful, serving residents in historically under-resourced neighborhoods and creating easier access to digital support.
Placing Digital Navigators within organizations like Goodwill also helps residents access more advanced career training opportunities. The Office Hours model follows a case-management approach, allowing residents to visit as often as needed. Digital Navigators follow up after each appointment to ensure continued progress. We refer residents to trusted partners across the ecosystem when their needs fall outside our scope, ensuring everyone has a clear next step.
Together, these efforts represent a broader shift: from ad-hoc support to sustained, everyday confidence.
By embedding resources into familiar spaces and grounding services in community input, we’re building a system of support that helps people navigate not just technology, but the opportunities it unlocks.
OKR 2: Continue to analyze the effectiveness and impact of Digital Navigation support and achieve high-quality customer service.
To better understand the impact of our Digital Navigation work and continually improve the resident experience, we focused this year on collecting feedback and tracking service quality across the ecosystem.
Over 90% of Residents Expressed Satisfaction
We launched a mix of outreach tactics to increase participation in our resident survey. By automating email follow-ups, sending survey links via SMS, and encouraging in-person feedback immediately after assistance, we made it easier for residents to share their thoughts and opinions. One particularly effective strategy was integrating surveys into our device distribution events. Digital Navigators kept tablets preloaded with the survey and offered to help residents complete it on-site—an approach that significantly boosted response rates.
To make participation accessible, we kept the questions minimal and focused on actionable insights. Residents who had just received a laptop or completed digital training were often eager to provide input, and their voices have been instrumental in shaping our work moving forward.
In addition to increasing survey participation, we paid close attention to the quality of service residents received. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with over 90% of respondents expressing satisfaction with the support from Digital Navigators. To maintain that level of service, we invested in:
- Regular training
- Timely reminders
- One-on-one coaching
Senior CDE team members served as subject matter experts to support Digital Navigators as they responded to residents’ diverse and evolving needs.
“Working with a digital navigator has helped me help my neighbors in my community to spread the word for this amazing resource for people who truly need it! Having access to this laptop will help me in the future with online classes I plan to take, allowing me to further my education and assist my children with homework and projects. I’m very grateful for this opportunity and the resources you all offer to our community.”
Next year, we plan to incorporate a Net Promoter Score to more accurately measure satisfaction and pinpoint areas for improvement.
4x Increase in DN Support Capacity
We also worked behind the scenes to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of our support systems. With a growing number of service tickets, we expanded our team to 20 Digital Navigators, quadrupling our capacity to respond. At the same time, we streamlined the internal ticketing process by utilizing automation to expedite ticket movement through each stage, thereby freeing up staff time for direct support. Team leads conducted regular audits to catch tickets that might otherwise stall, ensuring more timely follow-ups.
While some requests require extended time—such as waiting for device shipments or partner responses—we focused on addressing every ticket that could progress. This commitment continues to drive stronger, more consistent outcomes for the residents we serve.
To further support high-quality service, we made professional development a core part of every Digital Navigator’s journey.
Our team participated in:
- Three Northstar digital skills facilitation trainings
- AARP’s Senior Planet program, focused on older adults
- Online trauma-informed care training
- A statewide digital inclusion seminar
- Ongoing digitalLIFT and HubSpot CRM trainings
Senior Digital Navigators also mentored new team members, offering insight rooted in lived experience and community relationships. Together, these investments have strengthened our collective capacity and deepened our ability to respond with empathy, expertise, and care.
Digital Navigator Service Tickets: Quick Stats
Data for Charlotte Mecklenburg and the CDE-Based Ageless Access support.
| Category | Fiscal Year 2024 Jul 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 |
Fiscal Year 2025 Jul 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket Volume | 3,502 | 3,789 |
| Sign-ups for affordable home broadband | 1,742 | 1,249 |
| Purchasing affordable technology | 2,060 | 2,417 |
| Basic device and connectivity issues | 290 | 564 |
| Learning new digital skills | 761 | 995 |
| Other | 187 | 25 |
| Calls made | 11,278 | 10,730 |
| Events supported | 160 | 230 |
| Volunteers | 316 | 310 |
Statewide Ageless Access support (includes CDE-Based and Extended Ageless Access data).
| Category | Fiscal Year 2025 Jul 1, 2024 – Jun 30, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Ticket Volume | 508 |
| Sign-ups for affordable home broadband | 87 |
| Purchasing affordable technology | 97 |
| Basic device and connectivity issues | 325 |
| Learning new digital skills | 295 |
| Other | 136 |
| Calls made | 290 |
| Events supported | 532 |
Notes to better understand the data above:
- Ticket Volume: Residents can select multiple services in one support ticket. Thus, the number of service types requested will not equal the total number of tickets.
- Annual Audits: Audits of the software housing Digital Navigator Service analytics are conducted annually. These annual data review periods, in addition to other factors such as retroactive data imports, may cause data in the previous fiscal year column to differ slightly from the initial printing of past Impact Reports.