Pocketknife is a small advisory and contracting firm, working in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and sometimes globally.
We offer pragmatic and creative guidance to people navigating change.
What we do, and how we do it…
Imagination
Shifting thinking, fostering new narratives, and creating a sense of agency, through:
Research & insight
Sense-making
Thought-leadership
Provocations
Orientation
Preparing, story-building, and organising for change, through:
Path finding
Convening cross-sector cooperation & partnerships
Connecting & mobilising
Strengthening capability
Action
Creating conditions for innovation and action, through:
Design of enabling infrastructures
Governance
Capital arrangements
Learning systems
Our principles
Driven to do things better
Resourceful and proactive
Discreet and independent
Candid and pragmatic
In our practice, we focus on
Taking care and strengthening capability
Holding things lightly
Knowing when to bring in specific expertise
Maintaining our trusted networks
“Without new visions, we don’t know what to build, only what to knock down. We not only end up confused, rudderless, and cynical, but we forget that making a revolution is not a series of clever manoeuvres and tactics, but a process that can and must transform us”
Writing and thought pieces
A truly global conversation at a unique moment in history - Hélène Malandain
A Place-Based Approach to Recovery and Regeneration - Hélène Malandain
How to close your business well - Jody Connor
How the ‘fourth sector’ of the economy can help us now - Hélène Malandain and Steven Moe
Scratching the itch, defining our work - Alex Hannant
It’s no one’s fault. And it’s everyone’s responsibility - Hélène Malandain
Tafa O Ata Feasibility Study Case Study - Hélène Malandain
