How big is the problem?
Blindness and visual impairment have a major impact on people’s lives, leading to problems with all kinds of activities. The blind and visually impaired experience restrictions in many areas of social participation. In the Netherlands, some 1-2% of the population are estimated to be blind or visually impaired, and the problem is likely to grow over the coming years, for two reasons:

• increasing visual problems associated with the ageing of the population;
• society’s ever greater demands on people’s powers of visual observation.

The blind and visually impaired are expected to place growing demands on care, rehabilitation, education and employment services. Scientific research is needed to develop and maintain an optimum supply of care for people with a visual impairment.

Objective
The main objective of InSight’s research programme is:
To fund research that aims to enhance the self-reliance, independence and social participation of people with a visual impairment and associated disabilities.

The programme also has a number of secondary objectives:

1. To encourage high-quality scientific research by care and research institutions. Each project is carried out by research and care institutions working in collaboration, in order to make optimum use of the scientific expertise available at research institutions, and the practical experience of care institutions.
2. To develop an infrastructure for the dissemination and application of research results. InSight works to enhance expertise in the field of knowledge transfer and implementation, and to combine activities with a view to ensuring that results and products are used in practice. It therefore awards implementation grants, and holds an annual contact day and themed meetings.

Third phase
Meanwhile the third phase of the programme is already running. For this phase about € 3.000.000 is available for 2009-2012. InSight will aim to hold a new round of awards every two years. The programme aims to develop and test new interventions, training programmes, medical equipment, techniques and adaptations designed to enhance the self-reliance, independence and social participation of people with a visual impairment and associated disabilities. It targets people with a visual impairment and associated disabilities in all age groups. Because of a lack of attention for this group in the first and second phase of InSight research for people with a visual impairment and associated disabilities and research for people with a visual impairment and an auditory impairment receives extra attention in this phase.

Establishment and funding
Although ophthalmology is well-developed in the Netherlands, scientific research into the care, employment, education and rehabilitation of visually impaired people has fared less well. Any research that has been carried out has not always tied in well with demand. InSight Society was established in 1998, and is funded by two institutions that provide assistance, rehabilitation, care, work and education for people with a visual impairment and associated disabilities:

• Bartiméus
• Royal Dutch Visio

InSight is co-financed by ZonMw.