By Fabio Massimo, SBS expert.

JRC, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, has recently published the second version of DigComp, “Digital Competence Framework for Citizens’. This is a tool designed to support the improvement of digital skills of the European citizens. DigComp helps organisations, businesses and individuals to identify digital knowledge and the needs of digital culture that citizens have in their social and personal life.

DigComp provides conceptual model, vocabulary and descriptors needed to express digital concepts and skills necessary   in the context of the today life.

From technical perspective, DigComp methodological approach and structure originate from the Framework of professional skills (e_Competence Framework) and from the European qualifications framework (e_QF). Then, DigComp develops the specific area of the use of digital technologies by European citizen.

The first version was published in 2013 , the second version is an update designed to clarify the concepts and to adapt the content to the changing needs and to users suggestions. The document is completely free of charge and is available on the website: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/digcomp . It shows both, the new text and the made changes.

DigComp is not a standard in the formal sense as it was not developed by a formal standardisation body, however , being the only tool available at European level and the only one officially supported by the EC, it constitutes a “de facto standard”.

While the e-Competence Framework developed by CEN is the common language of professionals in ICT, DigComp is the common language for people in need to communicate digital concepts or explain actions involving digital technology, regardless of their professions or activities.

Nowadays DigComp is not yet very known and widespread across Europe. However, it is an instrument that may support the development of several applications and services both by market operators and public authorities.