Our purpose and values

Our purpose

The AOP has a clear, simple core purpose:

We are the voice of the optical profession, elevating the work of our members, safeguarding their interests, and championing eye health across the UK.

Our values

The AOP continues to be a mission-led, values-driven organisation. The golden thread that connects all these together is our members, who will continue to be the focus of everything we do. We achieve our purpose by being:

Bold

To make an impact on our evolving profession and the UK’s eye health we are bold in our ambition, our decision making, and the tone we express ourselves with. We know we need to stand out to make a difference in our world. Our boldness comes from confidence in our expertise and our people. It means we can successfully communicate our vision for change to those who can help make a difference. And it means our profession can feel confident when it needs protecting.

Resourceful

Our profession is complex and the world we inhabit is continually evolving. To create positive change, and meet the needs of our members and their patients we need to be continually resourceful in all that we do. We use our expertise, the varying skillsets within our teams, and the intel and research we have access to, to find ways through challenges, and create pathways all our profession can follow. This means sometimes we need to dig deep. Or show grit and determination to get to the bottom of an issue. But we always find a way to come out stronger.

Influential

To bring about change in our profession we need to influence; to inspire, to convince, to persuade – bringing our membership, our partners and those in the wider world, along with us. That ability to influence comes as a consequence of our skill in communicating and the expert knowledge we have to back up our point of view. But we also do our homework – we seek to understand who our audience is, and gain insights and perspectives about their challenges and
aspirations, that can help us be relevant to their needs.

Meticulous

While our vision is broad and aspirational, we are always meticulous about the details behind our work. It’s this care and attention that gets us the results we need. People trust us because they know they’ll have a carefully considered experience with us. Sometimes that means we need to slow down, or be realistic about how long it takes to do something well. It also means our expertise and skills are top notch; we never leave a stone unturned. And when we need to, we always communicate our expectations and needs clearly.

Caring

We care enormously about our profession, our membership, and the eye health of the wider public. We show this care and consideration through our warmth and
welcoming language, alongside our passion for bringing about visionary change. As a people-focused and values-led organisation, we always do our best to
understand the needs of who we are communicating with, bringing our people closer to us. In doing so, we build an effective community for our profession.

Our three pillars

• Membership services
• Policy and promotion
• Sustainability

Read about our five-year strategy.