Fuelled by aroha and coffee - ten years of Dovetail

By Adrian Field

Dovetail opened its doors, figuratively at least, ten years ago in June 2014. I had been thinking for a while about my own startup, and asked myself “well if I were to set up a company what would I call it?” Some weeks later, the idea of the carpentry dovetail joint came into my mind. It embodied good design, strength, skills, integrity and connection.

I realised that was the name I was looking for and set about to make the metaphor a reality.

From the outset, Dovetail was to be a public good-focused company, one whose activities were driven towards outcomes that benefit people, communities and ecosystems.

Over that time, evaluation has been our mainstay, alongside a growing variety of research and consulting assignments. But that public good orientation, underpinned by a collaborative mindset, has remained fundamental through the company’s growth and development.

Dovetail began as a sole practice consultancy, and from an early stage built a network of close collaborating partners. We forged strong links and worked successfully across a range of projects.

Dovetail’s superpower became its ability to bring together highly skilled people who could collectively deliver on clients’ needs across a range of sectors, including health, transport, disability services, local government and community development.  

From 2016, we forged a partnership with the University of Auckland’s Public Policy Institute, to take on Masters-level interns, who have stayed connected with us as their careers have progressed.

In 2020, we shifted to a mixed model of building an in-house team, complementing our collaborating partners. This enabled a more distributed project leadership approach, greater flexibility to meet client needs, and has steadily provided a platform for emerging researchers and evaluators.

At the same time our client and sector base has expanded, to include the mental health, creative, environment and education sectors. Value for Investment (VfI) has become a central offering in many of our evaluation projects, and we are now a leading provider of VfI within Aotearoa.

We’ve taken our services offshore, including to the Pacific, Australia and South America. We’ve presented at national and international conferences, including as keynotes.

The timeline below charts our growth in our in-house team, collaborating partners, project diversity, and key points of development (and if you really like it, you can download it here as a pdf).

Now, Dovetail is a certified B Corp, meeting benchmarks of social and environmental benefit, and signalling a purpose-driven approach to working that remains at our core.

When I look back on 10 years of Dovetail, one thing stands out.

Coffee.

It’s been the starting point for many relationships that I have come to value immensely, whether as colleagues, clients, collaborators or just regular connection. It’s been a way of bringing about moments that move beyond the transactional discussion, and build a way of working that is values-driven and mutually beneficial.

We – and I’m delighted that it’s we – are always open to a coffee with potential collaborators, clients, and those setting out on new careers. And even if you don’t drink coffee, we can still be friends. Please give us a call.

Our grateful thanks to all the friends, colleagues and clients who have shared coffee (and tea) with us over the last decade. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.