Vision 2030 Open Access

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA; 2025) has adopted Vision 2030, which builds on the work of the previous vision statements, including AOTA’s Vision 2025 (AOTA, 2017) and Centennial Vision (AOTA, 2007), to guide the profession.

In September 2024, AOTA’s Strategic Planning Advisory Committee began a visioning process by retaining outside consultant Vetted Solutions^® to solicit and analyze feedback from within the profession and from external community partners. Data collection included the administration of online surveys to more than 50,000 members and nonmembers as well as in-depth interviews with industry leaders to capture data to inform insights on the profession’s challenges, strengths, and opportunities.

Vetted Solutions reported its initial research at AOTA’s 2024 Strategic Planning Retreat. The retreat convened more than 30 staff and volunteer leaders, who represented a wide range of occupational therapy practitioner populations, as well as a diversity of age, professional experience, and backgrounds. The group reviewed the initial research and discussed current and emergent trends, potential shifts, barriers, and opportunities for the occupational therapy profession. Vetted Solutions leveraged these insights to inform its final analysis and report, which was delivered to AOTA’s Advisory Committee in January 2025.

The final report enabled the Advisory Committee to work diligently on two draft iterations of Vision 2030 for the AOTA Board of Directors to discuss. The Board engaged in a robust discussion over two meetings, resulting in approval of the final version of Vision 2030 on February 27, 2025.

Vision 2030 includes a statement and foundational pillars. The strategic pillars were developed to further define and communicate Vision 2030’s core tenets to key partners, including occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, educators, students, consumers, policymakers, and the general public. The statement and pillars are as follows:

• ▪ Inclusive and equitable professional community: Occupational therapy creates a supportive environment fostering belonging, collaboration, networking, and continuous learning for all professionals to enhance growth and development.

• ▪ Evidence-based, client-centered, and innovative practice: Occupational therapy delivers high-quality and skilled care using the latest research, focusing on individual client needs and goals while encouraging innovative approaches to enhance treatment outcomes.

• ▪ Universally recognized with valued excellence: Occupational therapy establishes the profession’s importance across various settings, demonstrating its unique value in improving individuals’ quality of life and functional abilities.

• ▪ Occupational justice and advocacy: Occupational therapy promotes education, advocacy, accessibility, and the right for ALL to engage in meaningful occupations through collaboration with consumers, other professionals, and policymakers.

The Association has created digital content and resources to drive awareness of Vision 2030, which are available online at www.aota.org/vision-2030.