The Dorothy Community Discovery Report

The Longitude Prize on Dementia Discovery Award has allowed us to learn what people living with dementia really want and how important internal wayfinding is to them.

Our vision was to create ‘The Dorothy Community’ which existed outside of the care home. People living with dementia could be supported by Dorothy, without the walking frame, to visit public buildings, community spaces, and commercial businesses. Venues would become more dementia-friendly, and, more importantly, people living with dementia would become more autonomous and independent. 

The Longitude Prize on Dementia Discovery Award has allowed us to learn what people living with dementia really want and how important internal wayfinding is to them. We have also established the needs of the businesses and other organisations that would offer the Dorothy app. We have established how much work will be needed to move Dorothy from a prototype to a commercially available service. We have identified a path for future innovation to take Dorothy to the next level.

We, along with our partner TPX Impact, have co-produced our findings and developed Dorothy with a range of people living with dementia, with a range of different subtypes of dementia, backgrounds, ages and experiences. We have tried Dorothy out in various venues and businesses to understand their unique needs and concerns.