Mission, vision, values

Drinkaware's strategic focus for 2022-2024 is to maintain our relevancy, reach and reputation and to "be" the lead alcohol education and awareness charity in Ireland.

Drinkaware Strategic Plan 2022-24

Our vision

An Ireland where alcohol is not misused.

Our mission

To prevent and reduce the misuse of alcohol in Ireland.

Our values

Achieving this mission requires ambition, trust, credibility, collaboration and value for money. These are our values. They act as our guiding principles and our ethical pillars, and they have underpinned Drinkaware’s work since the charity’s inception in 2016.

Ambition

In a society where 55% of adults drink on a weekly basis, almost 1 in 3 binge drink and at 15 years, our children have their first alcoholic drink three years under the legal age of 18 years, our vision is certainly ambitious. But we believe Ireland can write a different story and we are singularly focused on supporting it.

Trust

87% of the general public are aware of Drinkaware as a provider of trusted information on alcohol (Behaviour & Attitudes, 2022). We take that trust very seriously as the basis of our social contract to deliver on our vision.

Credibility

Our campaigns and programmes are shaped by evidence and grounded by rigorous evaluation. We deal in facts, not conjecture or myths. Our programmes are delivered by experienced professionals in the fields of education, research, health promotion and communication. And our credibility is fortified by our independence – our unequivocal governance that separates our executive from our funding. In addition to our voluntary Board, we have an independent Education Steering Group to support our education programme.

Collaboration

No societal issue can be solved in isolation. Positive change can only happen through collective efforts. And so at Drinkaware, collaboration is not a destination but a journey. We seek to partner, share and confer on everything we do because only then can we contribute to the change we seek.

Value for money

To be effective as a charity, Drinkaware must be efficient and must be sustainable. The rigour we apply to our programmes therefore is the same that we apply to our finances so that we can demonstrate value for money in terms of cost benefit i.e. impact.