Vision Collaborative Scotland is a group of third-sector organisations which all work to support people with vision impairments in Scotland.
Our purpose is twofold:
- We work collaboratively to support people who have vision impairments to live fulfilling and active lives in an inclusive Scotland.
- We bring together organisations which work in Scotland to amplify the voices and needs of people with vision impairments and their families, to identify shared priorities and work together to develop sustainable solutions.
Our members
Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans (Chair and website hosting)
Visibility Scotland (Vice-chair)
Fight for Sight
Guide Dogs
Rehabilitation Workers Professional Network (RWPN)
RNIB Scotland
Scottish Sensory Hub – Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE)
Thomas Pocklington Trust
Visionary
Our work together
We have agreed to work together on three key areas:
- Development of a professional vision rehabilitation training programme for people who work with adults with visual impairment in Scotland, taking steps towards a sustainable workforce in Scotland
- Evidence-based joint campaign and policy work
- Research, including Scottish vision impairment community support landscape review
University of Melbourne Research on the Impact of Vision Rehabilitation and Habilitation
Vision Collaborative Scotland is working with the University of Melbourne and Glasgow Caledonian University on ground-breaking research into the effectiveness of vision rehabilitation and habilitation.
Growing the VI Rehabilitation Workforce in Scotland
Vision Collaborative Scotland has launched, in partnership with the University of Strathclyde, two new professional training courses in Vision Rehabilitation. New courses full for 2026, applications open for 2027 start.
Support After Sight Loss Campaign
Vision rehabilitation is the specialist support that empowers people to adapt, rebuild confidence and live independently after sight loss. In Scotland right now, far too many people either can't access it, or are waiting far too long.
Our history
The Scottish Vision Services Steering Group (SVSSG) was a consortium of organisations that formed in 2021 and successfully campaigned to reinstate the Low Vision Rehabilitation Course which ran at Glasgow Caledonian University.
In 2025, we changed our name to Vision Collaborative Scotland to better reflect our purpose. This development also recognised the critical importance of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans’ new Head of Strategic Partnerships. This role has an outward-facing sectoral development focus, and the postholder Susan Shippey chairs our group.
Our future
You can read more about how Vision Collaborative Scotland are mapping the future of vision impairment services in Scotland in Susan Shippey's opinion piece here.
Vision Collaborative Scotland has launched, in partnership with the University of Strathclyde, two new professional training courses in Vision Rehabilitation, as well as conducting ground-breaking research into the effectiveness of vision rehabilitation and habilitation.
Our joint campaign
Up to the Scottish Parliamentary election 2026, Vision Collaborative Scotland members called on the next Scottish Government to adopt quality standards for vision rehabilitation, invest in professional training at the University of Strathclyde, and carry out a comprehensive workforce review.
Together, these three steps would help ensure that wherever in Scotland you experience sight loss, you can be confident that skilled, timely support will be there when you need it.
The campaign for improvements to vision rehabilitation in Scotland will continue up to and beyond the Scottish Local Government elections in May 2027. Find out more about our campaign calls and how to get involved by visiting our Support After Sight Loss campaign page.