Working Together
An open-handed invitation.
The problems worth spending a working life on are too large and too entangled for any one person or organisation to solve alone. I've spent the last decade working at that intersection — technical, relational, and grounded in delivery.
Peachgrove East — 48 units, net-zero, Passive House, cohousing, no government subsidy — is moving into construction delivery. That milestone creates a window.
Through to late 2027 I'm available for a small number of outside engagements: advisory, development management, or the right fixed-term contract. If something you're working on fits, I'd like to hear about it.
Over the past decade I've developed a way of working that integrates things that are often kept apart.
I facilitate
Helping groups think together, navigate disagreement, and find ways forward that no one could have found alone — grounded in Elinor Ostrom's Nobel Prize-winning work on collective governance and the conditions that make it work.
I advise
Strategic perspective on complex projects where technical performance, community governance, financial viability and regulatory navigation have to be held together. Particularly useful at the moments where the usual playbook runs out.
I lead
Hands-on development management and project leadership for first-of-kind builds — not as an outside expert parachuted in, but as someone willing to get into the work and see it through. Peachgrove East is the proof of concept.
I build
Co-founder of Living Systems Development and Toa Homes. The most convincing case I can make is the things I've helped build — from Passive House cohousing to iwi housing joint ventures. The work speaks.
A practical first step is usually a free scoping conversation — to understand your context, whether I might be able to help, and how we could structure things to ensure you get value from my input. From there, we can usually find a low-cost entry point that gives us a chance to test the relationship and make sure we're making the progress you need.
"Ben's blend of experience working with large organisations and lone individuals gives his approach a versatility that was really helpful to my team. He understood both the macro context we were working in, as well as the micro of each individual's learning and growth journey to get us where we wanted to go. Ben's coaching of our team was informed by industry-leading models, backed by experience, and communicated in a way that got our whole team excited and engaged."
— Lindsey Brown, Australia Water Sector Lead, GHD
Frequently asked
What kinds of engagements are you available for?
I'm open to one-off facilitated sessions, but my priority is longer-term collaborative work that's value-adding for both parties. If I take a single-session piece of work, it's usually because it has potential to lead to that, or because it helps create the conditions for the broader kaupapa I'm working towards.
My main focus is on collaborative work up to three days a week, on engagements typically running three to twelve months. That can look like quarterly strategic advisory, fractional development management on a defined project, coaching or support building team or industry capacity, or some combination of strategy/design facilitation and input on projects or policy.
I am open to fixed-term contract roles where the brief and the timing fit. Most of my work starts with a 20-minute conversation and goes from there.
What kinds of projects are you the right fit for?
Housing developments where business as usual doesn't quite fit. Councils navigating changes in the Resource Management, consenting and building quality landscape, or infrastructure and housing strategy and delivery. Purpose-led organisations focused on improving outcomes in the built environment. Iwi entities aiming to develop their land in ways aligned with their values. Basically anything where my skillset meets folks trying to figure out how to do complex things effectively.
I'm probably not the right fit for business-as-usual speculative residential, technical engineering work, or projects where the brief is fully locked and the work is execution-only.
What does Peachgrove East demonstrate that's transferable elsewhere?
A few things. That net-zero Passive House at scale is deliverable in New Zealand without government subsidy. That commons-based governance works better designed in than bolted on — likewise innovative design measures like smart electrical systems, Passive House and other sustainability features. That development can be commercially de-risked and collaborative (rather than speculative). That the procurement architecture of a project — how you contract, what's nominated, where risk sits — goes a long way to determining most outcomes. And that the gap between what a project intends and what it delivers is closed not by better technical specifications, but by how the people doing the work actually work together in practice.
What's your relationship to Living Systems Development while you're consulting?
Living Systems Development is the work I'm proudest of and it isn't going anywhere. As a small, new business that is cash-flow cyclical by nature — and now moving into construction delivery — I've decided to adjust my day-to-day role. We have a new partner in the business coming in to lead the contract administration and delivery of Peachgrove East (more to be announced soon), which frees me up to leverage the experience to help support the conditions for more thoughtful, responsive housing outcomes across the industry.
How do you charge?
Day rates for advisory, facilitation and short-term agreements. Fixed-fee (my preference) for defined scopes that are outcomes based, clearly scoped up front so we're both clear on what value looks like to you and how we can work together to realise it. Monthly retainers for ongoing engagements. I'll usually back-brief and quote after our first conversation, once I understand what you're actually trying to do.
How is this different from a project manager, sustainability consultant, or facilitator?
While I'm not a specialist project manager, I am a specialist sustainability consultant, facilitator and engineering technologist. As a generalist/specialist, I can hold the technical, financial, relational and governance dimensions of a project — and often translate across disciplines and groups that can often find it difficult to communicate.
If your project needs deep expertise in a single domain, hire a specialist.
If your project needs someone who can see a bigger picture, and help you keep that vision in mind as you step through delivery, that's closer to what I do.
Do you work outside New Zealand?
Primarily New Zealand-based through 2026. I'm open to remote-first work in the meantime if the fit is right.
How does a first conversation work?
Twenty minutes, no charge, no pitch. I'm trying to understand what you're working on and whether I can be useful; you're trying to work out the same. If there's something there, we'll figure out a next step. If there isn't, I'll often know someone who is a better fit.