Let's hope not as there is massive potential and a great deal of investment slushing around. But are the critical barriers being tackled?

I ask this question, because I repeatedly come across initiatives that focus upon the logistics of social enterprises, how to set them up, how to run them etc. But the assumption underpinning many of these initiatives is that someone with an enterprising view of the world will be at the helm. This is rarely the case. We each bring a unique mindset to the way we work. Are we creative? Are we organised? Can we take risks etc. Social entrepreneurs are successful because they are able to think and behave in a way that gets beyond inevitable restrictions and barriers.

To take just one example - entrepreneurs get things done because they plough ahead (occasionally listening to valuable information) and they make things happen. They dont like committees and boards because they slow the whole process down. If you have, or are thinking of setting up a social enterprise - are you willing to take a stand, make an independent decision and push ahead, even though there may be a number of 'bodies' in the way?

Please tell me I am wrong in even thinking that social enterprise could fail as a vehicle for turning health care around?

David

www.venturetothink.com

I think comes with the territory of dealing with the leviathan which is the NHS. As an example, it's taken nearly 2 years to turn a quote into a purchase order, in one recent case.

Social Enterprise, by convention typically small, faces the overwhelming overhead of tender and procurement processes, which generally get absorbed by larger firms who have sufficient margins and working capital to do so.

A start up social enterprise, may well go bankrupt before starting unless there's some kind of one-stop-shop to bring them into the fold.

Jeff

http://www.people-centered.net

Entrpreneurs have to move quickly and this isn't something the NHS is accustomed to, being tied to the bureacracy of procurement, and consultation etc. They also have to take risks but this isn't something the NHS can do with people's health.

It is well-known that 50% of social enterprises fail within their first 4 years so some level of failure is inevitable. I think so long as entrepreneurs go in with their eyes wide open and try and learn as much from other social enterprises that have failed, then this can be mitigated.