Strategy 2020+

Towards the end of last year trustees approved our strategy for 2020 and beyond. 

This strategy is based on a huge amount of insight, research and consultation with nearly 50,000 people including girls, parents, volunteers, partners and staff. This created a clear picture of Girlguiding’s strengths and challenges, as well as the opportunities open to us as an organisation.

The research that’s gone into the Strategy 2020+ project has clarified what sort of organisation Girlguiding wants to be, the impact it wants to make and how we’ll all work together to get there. The strategy also introduces a set of priorities, strategic outcomes and positioning which Girlguiding will adopt.

Getting to know our impact

We all see the impact we have on our girls and the benefit Girlguiding has for volunteers, our communities and society at large. Girlguiding wants to be able to understand the nature, extent and depth of the difference it makes and communicate its impact clearly to the world. So, as part of the strategy, we’ll need to set goals for the impact we want to achieve. These are known as our “strategic outcomes”.

Our strategic outcomes

The strategy includes a set of strategic outcomes which describe the difference Girlguiding wants to make. These have been informed by all the strategy consultation, research and existing data we have.

These outcomes are written as spoken statements. During 2020 we’ll develop a framework to evaluate how well we achieve them each year.

For girls and young women

I’m free to be me: I have more confidence in myself.

For all members

I care: I make a positive difference to others and the world around me.

For volunteers

I empower girls: I use my time and talents to empower the next generation of women.

For society

We inspire change: We use our influence as Girlguiding to remove barriers so girls and women can thrive.

Girlguiding today

Girlguiding’s mission is to empower girls to find their voice – inspiring them to discover the best in themselves and to make a positive difference in their community.

Our collective experience of working with hundreds of thousands of girls, combined with our wider research has revealed the vast pressures that girls and young women are experiencing today - pressure to achieve at school, around body image, friendships and relationships. They also have anxiety about the future - from housing and jobs, gender equality, climate change to the impact of Brexit. On top of this, increasing child poverty levels, social division and the lack of youth services to help young people cope with mental health and growing-up mean that what we have to offer at Girlguiding is needed more than ever. We know Girlguiding provides an environment where girls grow in confidence by developing friendships and skills, finding their voice and challenging themselves in a supportive community.

Girlguiding is already the largest girls’ organisation in the UK. But we want more girls to reap the benefits of being in guiding. Our next strategy is designed to evidence and increase our impact and build the foundations so more girls can access Girlguiding.

Preparing to launch

The core strategy has been approved by trustees, and a team of staff and volunteers are developing communications and some events to launch the strategy from March onwards.

This is a strategy for every volunteer, staff member and girl across Girlguiding – we’ll all have a role to play in making sure we achieve it. There’ll be opportunities to get involved and contribute your ideas and time. The strategy has confirmed where we want to get to as an organisation and this is just the start of our exciting strategy journey.

What’s next?

The strategy will formally launch in March 2020, although initial work has already started. Keep an eye out for more updates. But for now, thank you so much to everyone who’s been involved in the development of this strategy. It’s something we’ve created together, for our future Girlguiding.