Of course, this is nothing new.
As I wrote over two years ago, there should be a greater partnership between government and social entrepreneurs to find creative and sustainable solutions to society’s problems, especially within some of the poorest regions of Europe such as West Wales and the Valleys.
Indeed, the same problems seem to exist wherever you are in the World.
As the Economist points out, the biggest obstacle in both America and Britain is likely to be the inertia of the bureaucratic, rule-bound public sector. It also notes that success may depend on the emergence of a subgroup of social entrepreneur that (are called) “civic entrepreneurs”, who can navigate the treacherous waters of bureaucracy.
Given the difficulties within social enterprise programme such as Communities First, the question is not whether we have such civic entrepreneurs in Wales, but whether any are ready to put their heads about the parapet and make a difference within their local communities?
More relevantly, will WAG become less anally retentive about their micro-managerial approach to any type of community that receives public money?
