2025 Year in Review
Before we leave 2025 in rear-view, we like to take the opportunity of each new year to reflect on our delivery, growth and impact as a business. At a glance, this year tells a story of growth that goes beyond the numbers and speaks to how our work is evolving.
Quality over quantity
Over 2025, our work shifted toward larger and more complex assignments that required time, care, and strong systems to support them. Over 2025, we conducted 100 more interviews than in 2024 and delivered twice as many surveys, pointing to work that was broader in reach and deeper in detail. To support this, we added to our team of skilled evaluators, and welcomed Amanda Hunter as a director of the company, helping us build the capacity needed to do this work well.
A year of varied work
What stood out this year was not just the scale of the work, but its range. We continued to work across diverse topics and at different scales, and we’re deeply grateful for the trust placed in us to do so. Being invited into such a wide variety of contexts and entrusted with work that matters to people and communities is something we don’t take lightly.
Adrian reflects on what 2025 has meant for Dovetail:
“I think we will look back on 2025 as a pivotal year for Dovetail at all levels of the company. We grew our leadership and senior teams, and in the process grew our systems and capability across the entire team. The work we take on continues to become more complex, along with its potential to support lasting impact in communities and systems. For me though, I love that as a company we can still work at the scale of evaluating the impact of a local arts festival, through to exploring global trends and their implications for Aotearoa. Working across so many areas at so many different levels is a huge privilege that I am constantly grateful for.”
A new focus: Sensemaker Essentials
Many of the organisations we worked alongside are operating in a tougher fiscal environment, with less certainty and greater need to show what difference their work is making. Throughout 2025, we spent time thinking about how Dovetail can be useful in this space, helping organisations build evidence and learning into their everyday work. Amanda shares her view on what’s ahead:
“In 2025, we had the privilege of working alongside organisations doing ambitious, important mahi in some complex spaces across Aotearoa. Many were navigating ongoing uncertainty, tighter resources, and growing expectations to demonstrate impact while continuing to deliver essential mahi. What we heard was a desire to build confidence and capability in using evidence day to day. So, a key focus for us over the last year has been on supporting organisations to embed learning, reflection, and decision-making into everyday practice. This has led us to begin developing a set of Sensemaker Essentials: practical tools, processes, and ways of working that can support organisations to monitor progress, reflect on outcomes, and use evidence with confidence. We’re excited to continue developing and testing this offering with our partners in the next year and we look forward to sharing this with you soon.”
To bookend 2025, we want to say thank you. We’re grateful to our clients, collaborators, and everyone who follows and engages with our work. We’ll carry what we’ve learned this year into the one ahead. Kia ora rawa atu.
You can download the report here.