{"id":106,"date":"2007-07-06T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2007-07-06T07:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/progmanager.wordpress.com\/2007\/07\/06\/how-to-kill-a-great-idea\/"},"modified":"2007-07-06T08:00:26","modified_gmt":"2007-07-06T07:00:26","slug":"how-to-kill-a-great-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/realisedevelopment.net\/index.php\/2007\/07\/06\/how-to-kill-a-great-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Entrepreneurship and how to miss the point!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to Rob Greenland<\/a> for bringing to my attention the development of the Leeds Sports Trust.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leeds<\/strong> Sports Trust \u2013 Fit for the future<\/strong><\/a>
\nLeeds City Council has decided to transfer its sport and active recreation service into a Trust. The Trust will be a \u2018not for profit\u2019 charitable business with a strong social purpose agreed with the council and approved by the Charities Commissioners.<\/em><\/p>\n

The prime motivator behind this re-structuring appears to be some VAT regulation that means as a Trust the whole empire can save some VAT.<\/p>\n

However, the real prize of developing a Trust of this kind is the possibility of developing\u00a0 an inspired, engaged group of employees who are able to take real ownership of the development of the Trust and the role it can play in the City.<\/p>\n

The opportunity to develop a culture of ambitious social enterprise is the high value prize here – not the exploitation of an accounting loophole to re-coup some VAT.<\/p>\n