Forward. Together.
Our Strategy 2025 Onwards
Our vision is a future where every person with sight loss has the confidence and support to live their lives to the full.
Guide Dogs is moving away from a five-year fixed strategy to a more adaptive, future-looking approach. Forward. Together is an ambitious 15-year plan that will guide our work through to 2040.
On this page
A challenging and changing world
The social and economic world hasn’t got any easier for people with vision impairments. Health and social care services are stretched. The quality and availability of support are inconsistent. Meanwhile, embedded cultural attitudes and inaccessible spaces and places continue to drive isolation – reducing social and work opportunities.
Despite these barriers, some progress has been made. The rapid advancement of accessible technology offers opportunities for people with sight loss to navigate daily life more easily. Increased flexibility, remote work, and training are also making it easier for people with sight loss to learn and work in some areas.
Our aim: To level the playing field and help create a world where people with sight loss can live the life they choose
People with sight loss want a world where they can get on and do what they want, when they want. They want a level playing field. And they should have it. Simply being ‘mobile’ isn’t enough. It’s not just about accessing places, it’s about accessing opportunities – living actively, independently and well.
I’ve never let my vision impairment be an issue, I’ve always decided what I want to do, then pushed to do it.
To be able to truly live the life we choose, our research shows that people need a thriving mindset rooted in three interdependent pillars:
- Purpose – a vision of what you want to achieve.
- Mobility and access – the capability and opportunity to get on and do it.
- Self-belief – the confidence in your ability to make it happen.
Watch our short, audio-described animation about how purpose, access, and self-belief help us live the life we choose.
Our five strategic priorities:
To achieve our vision we'll focus on strengthening purpose, access, and self-belief. To do this, we have identified five strategic priorities:
Strengthen our foundations, ensuring our core services are the best they can be
We’ll shore-up our core guide dog and children and young people services, providing consistent, quality services across the board. And we’ll provide sighted guide training to families, businesses and community groups to help make the world more inclusive for people with sight loss. We’ll also ensure that we have the culture needed to deliver our ambitious strategy and adapt when needed.
Move beyond just mobility and evolve our expertise to ensure we are offering access to opportunities as well as places
We’ll continue to build confidence and problem-solving abilities through our range of services for children, young people and families. And we’ll work with others to identify opportunities to help people live with greater freedom, spontaneity, and choice.
More personalised support around key life moments, stages and transitions
We’ll build people’s confidence through more personalised relationships and we’ll give people more support at the key life moments and transitions that they face.
Use tech to enhance dog training and welfare, and become the go-to in tech-driven navigation
We’ll continually explore the interconnection between guide dogs, technology and people, identifying how new technology can help improve and evolve the life-changing support and services we provide.
Reframe expectations of what’s possible for people living with a vision impairment
We’ll shift public perceptions of what’s possible for people with sight loss, through authentic storytelling and communications that celebrate both the exceptional and the ordinary. And we’ll help build purpose by enabling adults, children and families to envisage a world where they can live the life they choose.
Read our full strategy by downloading the PDF below:
Forward. Together. Guide Dogs 2025 Strategy
Be a part of it
Our services help thousands of people with sight loss to lead confident, independent and fulfilling lives, and we plan to help many more. But we can’t do this without our incredible volunteers and supporters. There are many ways to get involved:
We need the support of people like you. Every day 250 more people join the two million already living with sight loss. By giving just £25, you could help to pay towards an hour of specialist training for a guide dog.
With a volunteer role designed for everyone, there are so many ways to get involved. Take the leap and join an amazing community of volunteers and of course dogs!
We know that by working with others we can make a greater impact. Our work with corporates comes in all shapes and sizes - the common theme is a desire to change lives and make a difference. Find out how we can work together.