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What we do
Creating change that matters and will last
We work with our clients to build vibrant communities, develop strong teams, gain profound insights and make well-informed decisions. Each project is approached with a bespoke strategy, based on proven methods, guided by our core values.
See some of our recent work below:
Focus on Community Development
Building community in Victoria Quarter South
Community engagement, project and stakeholder management,
research, co-design, collaborative placemaking
In the inner-city neighbourhood of Victoria Quarter South, we’re exploring how to develop a thriving neighbourhood and spark belonging in a place where it can be hard to connect.
Nelson, Union and Cook Streets sit in one of the most densely populated parts of the city centre. Historically the area has been marked by visible homelessness and begging and, while conditions have significantly improved, there are still large pockets of neglect. Apartment buildings sit in the midst of a harsh urban “heat island” in a block that is bound by motorway offramps and streets that prioritise cars over people. Almost 70% of residents were born overseas and many have been in the area for less than a year. This has resulted in many residents feeling disconnected.
At the same time, the area is full of possibility and there is a wealth of creativity, many ideas and much energy from those who live, work and invest in the area.
Drawing on local and international practice, our approach is grounded in strengthening the fabric of everyday life through participation. Our role is to connect and join in, offer more than we ask, help resolve concerns and add value, helping the neighbourhood feel safer, more vibrant and connected.
Kororāreka
Community engagement, workshopping and placemaking
Since 2024, Catalyse has partnered with the Kororāreka Russell community and the Far North District Council to reimagine and transform the historic Cass Street and The Strand waterfront area. In 2024 we facilitated community engagement to gather big ideas, which resulted in over 1,300 ideas. Catalyse stewarded the project through a shared-space roading trial and in 2026 has returned to facilitate final engagement to implement permanent infrastructure changes. Our approach bridges the gap between local aspirations and lasting, cohesive public outcomes.
Focus on Storytelling
Storytelling and values:
achieving impact in a noisy world
Development and delivery of innovative workshop series and resources, website development, growing community of practice ent organising and delivery
In partnership with ANCAD, Community Waitākere and Auckland Council, Catalyse developed and delivered an innovative new workshop series on values-based communication. Across two workshops we mapped audiences, clarified values, and tested storytelling frameworks that draw on globally recognised values research alongside Māori and Pasifika worldviews. In an era of attention scarcity, advocacy fatigue and shrinking funding, we’ve seen that facts inform, but stories connect – and when stories resonate with people’s values, joined-up pathways forward emerge and actions are taken. The next stage of this kaupapa is the launch of a Storytelling for Impact & Influence website in 2026. This online resource will bring together the tools we designed, tested and shared in 2025, recorded presentations, and exemplar stories from organisations.
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Focus on Climate Adaptation
Many communities, many paths
Community-driven flood recovery planning
The extreme weather events of early 2023 had an adverse effect on many communities across Tāmaki Makaurau, leaving people with damaged homes, disrupted routines, and uncertain futures. Within months, Auckland Council and the Crown committed more than $2 billion to storm recovery and resilience works, including the buy‑out of high‑risk Category 3 homes and major “Making Space for Water” projects. Catalyse has had the privilege of supporting community‑led recovery in several of these places alongside Auckland Council’s Flood Recovery Office. Each community has its own story, pace, and pathway – and our role has been to help them organise, imagine, and act together.
Pukekohe
Planning with the awa
In Pukekohe, we supported conversations that placed the awa at the centre – ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au – exploring how people and water can coexist in ways that honour past, present and future. Through workshops and hui, residents considered how flood recovery could also be an opportunity to heal relationships with local waterways and design for long‑term resilience, informing how upcoming resilience funding is understood and used locally.
Epsom
Turning over a new leaf
In Epsom, we’ve used creativity to help residents process grief and possibility following significant flooding impacts where numerous homes have been deemed unliveable. Through workshops with local schools, community groups and at local events, locals have created 221 hand‑painted “wish leaves”. These will form a beautiful and interactive kinetic mural on a highly visible site where homes are being removed due to flood risk into the future. This is a temporary public artwork that reflects what people love about Epsom and their hopes for the future, while also keeping conversations about land use, resilience and community commons visible in everyday life.
Eden
Reimagining a neighbourhood of change
In Eden, the removal of many homes due to unacceptable flood risk have reshaped the local landscape and raised big questions about future land use, commons and connection. Our work has brought residents together at neighbourhood scale to reimagine how these spaces could support flood resilience, everyday community life, and new forms of shared commons. Ideas were generated and demonstrated in a vibrant pop up gathering on one site, and collated to inform how locals, Council and partners invest in these transformed places.