The issue of Business Skills Development witnessed one participant claiming that:

Organisations in the Social Economy need to move from being reactive to business issues, to being more pro-active. This will require a substantial up-skilling of employees or the recruitment of proper business managers .  

Further examples can be found in responses to the issue Collaboration and Cooperation and why it was not practised for greater efficiency in the sector. The following kinds of responses reflect reactivity.

Staff in no- profits work in conditions and on a salary that would not be tolerated in the corporate world .
Collaboration (with corporates) was a high risk activity and [with] possible negative outcomes  - an organisation’s loss of DGR [tax exempt] status was cited as am example.
A combination of reasons involving lack of sufficient resources for good levels of cooperation and limited success at collaboration; being too busy trying to survive to plan cooperatively; and individual rather than organisation dependent for its development
Hard work, dedication and commitment, and solid values .
The fact that too often organisations are very defensive or ideologically driven in a way that inhibits collaboration .
The view that in private industry, cooperation is actively discouraged e.g. price fixing. Expectations of cooperation possibilities are unrealistic (a view that reflects more of a misunderstanding of Forprofits perhaps) .
Competitive culture and frameworks that are make for less collaboration and a more conducive culture and environment
Too frequently, collaboration is seen as an optional extra rather than an intrinsic aspect of meeting the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations .

This more reactive role and stance contrasts with the views of a relatively few leaders in the sector who regard competitive funding and other issues as symptoms not causes.

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