About Us

We work to support, develop and promote the interests and work of voluntary and community organisations in the Western Isles.

The Third Sector Interface Western Isles (TSIWI) is funded by the Scottish Government and has responsibility for:

• Supporting and developing a strong Third Sector
• Building the Third Sector relationship with community planning

TSI Western Isles is made up of six partners:

• Voluntary Action Barra & Vatersay (VABV)
• Uist Council of Voluntary Organisations (UCVO)
• Volunteer Centre Western Isles (VCWI)
• Harris Voluntary Service (HVS)
• Volunteering Hebrides (VH)
• Outer Hebrides Social Economy Partnership (OHSEP)

Third Sector Interfaces (TSI’s) are funded by the Scottish Government to provide a single point of access for support and advice for the third sector. There is a network of 32 interfaces across Scotland: one for each local authority.

TSIW Western Isles is made up of 6 partners:

• Uist Council of Voluntary Organisations (UCVO)
• Volunteer Centre Western Isles (VCWI)
• Voluntary Action Barra and Vatersay (VABV)
• Volunteering Hebrides (VH)
• Outer Hebrides Social Economy Partnership (OHSEP)
• Harris Voluntary Service (HVS)

Our role

Scottish Government funds TSI’s to perform the following roles:

To be a central source of knowledge about:

• The Third Sector locally
• Local and national policy and how it might affect local Third Sector, communities and citizens
• How the Third Sector can contribute to those agendas

Voice

Ensuring a strong Third Sector voice at a strategic level within local planning structures and nationally

Build capacity

Developing the capacity of volunteering, community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprise to achieve positive change

Connect

Providing leadership, vision and coordination to the local third sector to better respond to local priorities, including through partnership and collaboration

We want to hear from any organisations or individual we can support through these roles.