When they are active in politics we call them national leaders; when they turn their attentions to commerce we call them entrepreneurs. By naming them, we recognise them, give them status, help them exploit their full potential. In one part of our society, however, we too often fail to name these leaders, to recognise their qualities and the contributions they can make. We rarely provide adequate support for their efforts: indeed, often our institutions work against them. And yet our lives are influenced by these people, and our future may actually depend on them. They are the "community-based social entrepreneurs".

The weight of social responsibility is being returned to the community. In order to carry this weight, the social fabric that has been eroded over decades needs to be revitalised and repaired. This will not be achieved through public-sector-led programmes alone. Similarly it will not happen through committees and public meetings alone. Leadership is required, and always has been. Today, a particular brand of leader is needed who goes beyond partial, remedial actions. They will be critical in the development of solutions that enhance the quality of life and are sustainable in human, organisational, financial and environmental terms.

The community leaders who will be counted tomorrow are those who have the strength and integrity to gain the trust of communities that have been repeatedly let down over the years, who are able to develop new solutions and who are able to make these solutions work in practice.

We are neither good at recognising social entrepreneurs, nor good at assisting them with the support and infrastructure they need to develop the solutions and concepts required for the 21st century. In the social sphere, attempts to innovate are often met with closed doors, unhelpful bureaucracies, insensitive sources of funds and sometimes downright destructive aggression. This is particularly the case when innovators are trying to improve things within their own communities. Indeed, social entrepreneurs are most effectively marginalised by the dominant institutions in our society when they come from those communities most in need.

Younger community-based social entrepreneurs, on the other hand, often do not have the professional background of these older leaders. Possibly with an anger born of the experience of constant rejection, they certainly do have the energy, and often the credibility, legitimacy and networks, at community level. What they lack, however, are many of the things that others take for granted — an understanding of finances and the pitfalls of grant dependency, or how to build organisations that move beyond informal networks.

Too many budding community leaders are knocked back by their lack of experience in dealing with the weight of institutional resistance they face. Too many brilliant ideas never reach trial stage because of the inability of inexperienced innovators to develop them to an operational level, and to articulate their strengths to reluctant sources of support. And, finally, too often leaders flounder at an early stage of implementation because of their weak understanding of how to make organisations work.