Real-world experiences that build confidence, capability and community.

Operation Wayfinder is a pilot for a safe, intuitive platform connecting young adults who want direction, providers who offer hands-on experiences, and organisations who want to enable meaningful social impact.

Discover hands-on experiences that help you learn what you’re capable of - without pressure, judgement or cost.

Connect with curious, enthusiastic young people who want to get involved, free of charge.

Enable real-world social impact - with outcomes you can support, promote and take pride in.

This page is for individuals who are interested in discovering real-world experiences.
Are you a potential Experience Provider? Click here
Are you a potential Funding Partner? Click here!

You don’t need to have it all figured out.

If you’re feeling unsure about your next steps - or just curious about what’s possible beyond the usual paths - you’re not alone.Operation Wayfinder exists to explore how real-world experiences can help young people build confidence, capability and a sense of direction.Right now, we’re listening.

Who is Operation Wayfinder for?

This is for you if:

  • You’re curious about the world beyond school, college or work

  • You want hands-on experience, but don’t know where to start

  • You feel capable of more, but lack confidence or clarity

  • You’d value trying things in the real world, not just reading about them

You don’t need a plan.
You don’t need previous experience.
You don’t need to commit to anything.
We won't be asking for any money.

Why have we established Operation Wayfinder?

For Experience Seekers, OpWayfinder is a precursor to something bigger.Our mission is to enable all young adults to access the best the world has to offer - and in an increasingly digital world, real-world experiences can help you:

  • Build confidence through real-world activity

  • Find direction and new passions

  • Learn new skills

  • Help you understand the world around you

  • Meet positive role models

  • Feel part of a community

What Operation Wayfinder is (right now)

Operation Wayfinder is an early-stage pilot.Recognising the value of real-world experience in an increasingly digital world, we’re exploring a simple question:"How can we most effectively harness the value of real-world experiences?"To answer that, we’re gathering insight from people like you - your interests, your concerns, your ideas, and what you’d actually find valuable.Your input helps shape what comes next.

What happens if you take part

If you choose to get involved:

  • You’ll be invited to share your interests and what you’re curious about (via the webform below)

  • You may be asked for feedback on ideas or opportunities we’re exploring, in the future.

  • You may be offered the opportunity to participate in curated experiences, aligned to your interests, at no cost to you.

  • You’ll help influence how future experiences are curated and delivered to young people.

There is:

  • No cost

  • No obligation

  • No pressure to perform or decide anything

This is about learning - for you, and for us.

Safety & Support

Your safety and wellbeing matter.Any future opportunities created from Operation Wayfinder will be designed with:

  • Clear boundaries and expectations

  • Appropriate safeguarding measures

  • Respect for your time, comfort and consent

At this stage, we are focused on listening first and acting responsibly.

Share your voice. Help shape what’s next!

If you’re open to exploring what real-world experiences could look like - and want to help create something better - we’d love to hear from you!

We're excited to get your thoughts!

This short form helps us understand what matters to you. Whatever information you choose to provide will help us shape our offering and, if you're happy for us to do so, we'll aim to invite you to participate in relevant experiences when we're ready!

This page is for anyone who is interested in providing real-world experiences.
Are you an Experience Seeker? Click here!
Are you a potential Funding Partner? Click here!

Open your doors.
Shape someone's direction.

Every organisation has moments, places, skills or people that could make a real difference to someone else - often without much effort.Operation Wayfinder exists to make those moments accessible, safe and worthwhile for everyone involved.

Why did we create Operation Wayfinder?

For Experience Providers, OpWayfinder is a precursor to something bigger.We believe that - in an increasingly digital world - real-world experience holds the key to unlocking the full potential for so many young adults.And, by connecting them with suitable experience providers in a safe and seamless manner, we can create tremendous value for both sides.We therefore established OpWayfinder to qualify this belief, gathering relevant data to inform our next steps.Nothing more. Nothing less.

What we mean by an "experience"

We’re not talking about long-term placements, admin-heavy programmes or formal commitments.Experiences can be as simple as:

  • A short workplace visit or behind-the-scenes look

  • A hands-on activity or practical session

  • A creative or skills-based workshop

  • A community or volunteering project

  • A demonstration or mentoring moment

One-off or repeat.
Small or scalable.
Structured or informal.You decide what’s realistic.

Who are we looking to hear from?

We want to hear from any individual, community, club, society or organisation that shares our belief that the world would benefit from more lived experiences.This might include (but is not limited to!)...

  • Animals, Nature & Outdoors, for example riding stables, fishing clubs or wildlife sanctuaries.

  • Crafts, Skills & Making, for example pottery studios, knitting circles, or restoration collectives.

  • Sport, Fitness & Movement, for example amateur sports clubs, cycling clubs or dance groups.

  • Community, Social Action and Local Support, for example food banks, community kitchens and local charities.

  • Creative, Media & Digital, for example photography collectives, theatre groups or community radio stations.

  • Environment & Sustainability, for example sustainability projects, allotment societies and rewilding groups.

  • Engineering, Manufacturing & Motorsport, for example amateur motorsport teams, maker spaces and restoration projects.

If you don’t see yourself listed here - but you think what you do could offer a meaningful, hands-on experience - we’d still love to hear from you!

Why your organisation should get involved

You may be interested in offering up experiences for a variety of reasons:

  • Give back to your local community

  • Support young people who need confidence or direction

  • Offer meaningful engagement beyond traditional work experience

  • Bring fresh energy and perspective into your organisation

  • Enable staff to contribute in a positive, human way

The common thread is a shared appetite to create value for the right reasons.

What this isn’t

Let’s be clear about what we’re not asking you to do...

  • This is not a commitment

  • This is not unpaid labour extraction

  • This is not a compliance or paperwork exercise

  • This is not “open the doors and hope for the best”

At this stage, we’re simply exploring appetite and possibilities.

Interested in exploring further?

If you think your organisation or community might be able to offer something, now or in the future, we’d love to understand more.The form below is a short expression of interest.No obligations.
No assumptions.
Just a starting point.

We're excited to get your thoughts!

This is not a commitment - it’s simply a way to help us understand what kinds of experiences might exist, and whether there’s appetite to explore them further.

This page is for organisations who fund or sponsor initiatives like ours.
Are you an Experience Seeker? Click here!
Are you an Experience Provider? Click here

Help shape what comes next.

Operation Wayfinder is an early-stage exploration into a simple question:"What would make a real-world experience programme genuinely worth backing - commercially, socially, and reputationally?"This page is an invitation to help us find out.

Why we’re speaking to potential funders now

Before anything is built at scale, we want to understand:

  • What funders actually care about

  • What evidence they need

  • What would make engagement compelling rather than cosmetic

Not hypothetically, but in practice.OpWayfinder exists to listen first, not to sell a service built on assumptions.

What we’re exploring

We’re testing assumptions around:

  • The types of outcomes that matter most (skills, confidence, employability, wellbeing, etc.)

  • How impact should be measured and evidenced

  • What level of visibility, association or involvement feels appropriate

  • Where commercial, CSR and social-impact priorities genuinely overlap

Your input helps distinguish signal from noise.

What this is (and isn’t)

This is:

  • A discovery phase

  • A chance to influence early thinking

  • A low-commitment way to shape a future programme

This is not:

  • A sponsorship pitch

  • A funding ask

  • A polished CSR product

We’re deliberately early, by design.

Why your perspective matters

Many well-intentioned initiatives fail because:

  • They guess what funders want

  • They optimise for optics over outcomes

  • They scale before learning

We’re trying to do the opposite.Hearing directly from funders helps ensure that any future programme is:

  • Grounded in commercial reality

  • Evidence-led

  • Genuinely valuable to those involved

Who we’re keen to hear from

This is particularly relevant if you:

  • Sit within CSR, ESG, people, or brand functions

  • Fund education, skills or youth initiatives

  • Are curious about new engagement models

  • Care about outcomes, not just activity

Even a short input is valuable.

Take part in the discovery

If you’re open to sharing perspectives - anonymously or otherwise - we’d welcome your involvement.Your insight will directly inform whether, and how, a future programme is designed.Register your interest below.

We're excited to get your thoughts!

This is not a commitment - it’s simply a way to help us establish funders' appetite, and associated expectations.

The modern world can be unforgiving.

As a result, an entire generation of young people have lost confidence, connection and capability.

What if they could discover and engage with real-world experiences and like-minded people effortlessly, at zero cost?

That's what we're building.

A simple, safe, joyful way for anyone to reconnect with real life.

Operation Wayfinder is a pilot programme working to gather information and opinions from anyone interested in engaging with our mission.We are inviting prospective experience seekers, experience providers and funding partners to submit selected information that will help shape an effective solution, at scale.For those who are willing, we will reach out directly when we're ready, to invite them to participate in early trials.To learn more, review our FAQ's, or reach out to [email protected].

FAQ

1. What is Operation Wayfinder?
Operation Wayfinder is an early-stage exploratory initiative.
Its purpose is to listen, learn and test ideas before anything is scaled.

2. Why now?
In an overwhelmingly digital world, young people are facing increasing levels of disconnection, anxiety, and uncertainty.
Many organisations want to help but lack simple, trusted ways to engage.
OpWayfinder is the first step in bridging that gap, when it matters most.

3. Who is Operation Wayfinder for?
OpWayfinder is for young people seeking confidence and direction, organisations & communities open to offering real-world experiences, and funders who want to support meaningful, measurable social impact.

4. Why has Operation Wayfinder been created?
There’s growing recognition that young people benefit from practical, real-world experiences, but access is uneven and fragmented.
Operation Wayfinder exists to better understand that gap.

5. How are safety and safeguarding handled?
Safety is taken seriously from day one.
All activity is carefully considered, proportionate to context, and aligned with appropriate safeguarding principles.

6. How is Operation Wayfinder funded?
Operation Wayfinder is not a commercial offering. Participation is free, and there is no expectation of commitment.

7. What happens with the information shared?
Information is used to identify patterns, needs and risks - not to market to individuals or sell data.
It helps inform what responsible next steps might look like.

8. Who is behind Operation Wayfinder?
Operation Wayfinder is led by an independent founding team with backgrounds in industry, engineering, and programme delivery, supported by advisors.

9. What happens next?
The information gathered through OpWayfinder will help determine whether - and how - something more permanent should exist.
As and when our solution emerges, we'll notify anyone who's requested to be kept informed.

Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Updated 22/12/2025

OpWayfinder (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use and safeguard your information when you visit our website or interact with us.

1. Who we are
OpWayfinder is a UK-based initiative exploring ways to connect people with meaningful real-world experiences.
For the purposes of data protection law, we are the data controller of any personal information you provide.
Contact email: [email protected]

2. What information we collect
We only collect information that is necessary and proportionate. This may include:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Any information you choose to provide via a contact or sign-up form
- Basic technical data (such as browser type or device), collected automatically by our website platform

3. How we use your information
We use your information to:
- Respond to enquiries or expressions of interest
- Share updates about OpWayfinder, where you have opted in
- Understand interest in our project and improve our offering
- Meet legal or regulatory obligations where required
We do not sell your data or use it for unrelated marketing.

4. Legal basis for processing
Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases:
- Consent — where you have actively submitted your details
- Legitimate interests — to operate, improve and communicate about OpWayfinder in a reasonable and expected way
You may withdraw your consent at any time.

5. How we store and protect your data
Your information is stored securely using reputable third-party platforms (such as Carrd, Airtable and Google Workspace).
We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect your data against loss, misuse or unauthorised access.

6. Sharing your information
We only share your data where necessary to operate the service, for example with:
- Website and form-hosting providers
- Email and productivity tools
These providers process data on our behalf and are required to handle it securely and lawfully.
We will never share your information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

7. How long we keep your data
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, or to meet legal requirements.
You may request deletion of your data at any time.

8. Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate data
- Request deletion of your data
- Object to or restrict processing
Withdraw consent at any time
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]

9. Cookies
Our website may use basic cookies or similar technologies to ensure it functions correctly. We do not use cookies for intrusive tracking or advertising.

10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page, with the “Last updated” date revised accordingly.

11. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact [email protected]