Solomon Leonard works in partnership with clients and local people to bring about economic and social development. Their directors and associates focus on governance issues which bring about poverty alleviation and equitable development through the more efficient use of resources. The consultancy sees its role as assisting countries to find development solutions that are appropriate and which will remain effective well after the associates' input has ended.

They work in the following sectors:

• - Governance, institutional strengthening and capacity building
• - Public sector, financial and economic reform
• - Privatisation and corporatisation
• - Small enterprise development and training
• - Human resource development and human resource management
• - Gender mainstreaming; eliminating violence against women
• - Community development, urban development and rural development
• - Social impact assessment

The way they work

Their approach to consulting is:

• - To provide the services of their directors and associates in teams that work well together
• - To empower local organisations and communities to participate in their own development
• - To ensure their projects contribute to sustainable development
• - To support their teams through open communication and peer review
• - To provide honest and clear communication to their clients and partners in development
• - To actively seek feedback so they can continually improve their service

They believe that:

• - People come first - therefore participation and consultation are essential
• - Simple solutions work best - typically this involves addressing underlying causes of problems not the symptoms
• - An underlying principle at all levels of an organisation must be: 'do today's work today'
• - It is difficult to achieve significant social progress in the absence of economic growth and development

Who they are

Solomon Leonard is a New Zealand based consultancy, owned by executive directors Rob Solomon, Lloyd Powell and Ben Schultz. Because their company is committed to putting together teams that work well as a whole, new associates join the company on the recommendation of the directors and existing associates.

While they have particular expertise in the Asia Pacific region, it is not limited to this part of the world. They have also conducted assignments in Africa, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean.