Call for projects: supporting Orange Digital Centers

The Orange Digital Centers (ODC) program is backed by the Orange Group and forms part of its Engage 2025 strategic plan. An ODC comprises a physical location accommodating a Coding School (training offer from awareness to certification), a Solidarity FabLab, an Orange Fab (start-up incubation/acceleration) and a link to the Orange Ventures investment fund.

Particular priority is given to women and especially their integration in digital professions. This is one of the objectives of the Orange Digital Centers.

This call for projects aims to support the creation or strengthening of the Coding Schools and Solidarity FabLabs at the Orange Digital Centers. In this way, the Orange Foundation intends to support digital solidarity, professional integration and digital skills development through the Orange Digital Centers in the countries within its footprint.

Coding School

The facilities and training courses offered by the Coding Schools will have the combined purpose of contributing to the digital integration of the beneficiaries by developing their capacities and skills.
However, the types and methods of training that may be proposed will vary according to their specific purposes and the targets they are intended for.
We distinguish between 3 different objectives according to the target populations, which are also differentiated:

• digital literacy
• motivation or pre-qualification
• professional qualification.

The courses offered by Coding Schools are therefore for different targets.
However, improved employability and professional integration remain a priority, since these are qualities that remain in high demand across all territories.
Adults and young adults with difficulty finding employment are therefore also a priority.

Solidarity FabLab

Orange Foundation Solidarity FabLabs are digital fabrication workshops: places to learn by doing and learn the basics of digital manufacturing, up to the prototyping of projects. They are intended for young jobseekers (looking for work and often with few or no qualifications), so they can learn to use digital tools (3D printers, plotters, etc.), acquire cross-functional skills (teamwork, project management, creativity, communication, etc.) and rebuild their confidence.

Link to initial support for ODC Solidarity FabLabs
This call for projects supplements the initial support earmarked for the Orange Digital Center Solidarity FabLabs (€41k). If you have not yet requested the €41k, you can include the request in your response to this call for projects as an additional project (see next paragraph).

Option to propose additional projects

You can propose additional projects that go beyond the basic ODC components, explaining how they correspond to the objectives described above and to the Orange Foundation charter. These additional projects will be assessed by the Selection Committee.

Selection criteria

To seek funding from the Orange Foundation, local Orange Foundations or NGOs must describe their project to create or improve their Orange Digital Center.

Materials to provide in the application

To respond to this call for projects, please use the the Foundation’s project management platform.

You will be asked for the following documents:

• Articles of association of the Foundation
• Latest activity report
• Latest Auditor’s report
• If the Orange Digital Center has already been launched in your country, a presentation of its activities
• Project description
• Budget forecast for use of the grant
• Overall budget forecast for the Orange Digital Center
• Provisional project schedule
• For additional projects, other documents may be required
• Any other information that the Selection Committee might find useful.

To fund additional projects, other documents may be requested.
In the particular case where you wish to integrate the 41k grant request for the ODC’s solidarity fablab into your response, the documents requested by the Orange Foundation are :

• Presentation of the partner (mission, activity, knowledge of the maker ecosystem and associations)
• Presentation of the team (fabmanager, trainer, ...)
• Description of the activities proposed in the ODC’s FabLab Solidaire
• Description of the governance with the partner
• Integrate: The main steps and planning in the global calendar, Budget lines in the projected budget for the use of the grant and in the overall budget of the Orange Digital Center.