Kaupapa-aligned project advisory.
A companion to the general capability statement, written for clients and partners whose projects carry a defined kaupapa Māori dimension — iwi-led developments, marae and papakāinga projects, institutional projects engaging mana whenua, and any work where Te Tiriti o Waitangi shapes how the project must be done.
- Ko Te Ahuahu te maunga
- Ko Ōmāpere te roto
- Ko Ngāpuhi te iwi
- Ko Ngāti Hineira te hapū
- Ko Parawhenua te marae
- Ko Ohaeawai te tūrangawaewae
- Kei Tauranga Moana ahau e noho ana
- Ko Shane Forward tōku ingoa
Honest about where I am.
I am Ngāpuhi by whakapapa, with tūrangawaewae at Ohaeawai. I have spent forty years in commercial construction, almost all of it in the Pākehā world of architecture, project management, and governance. In the last decade, my heritage has become more important to me, and I am working to bring it more fully into my professional practice.
I want to be clear about what I am not. I am not a cultural authority. I am not a kaupapa Māori practitioner in the way that term is properly used. I do not speak te reo Māori, though I am committed to learning the kupu and protocols that matter to the work I do.
What I am is a senior project advisor with deep construction experience, who understands why Te Tiriti and te ao Māori matter to the built environment, and who is committed to helping projects honour both with integrity.
Project leadership alongside cultural authority — never in place of it.
For projects where the kaupapa is central, my role is to bring construction and project leadership experience alongside — not in place of — the cultural authority that properly belongs to mana whenua, kaumātua, and kaupapa Māori practitioners.
For larger projects, this typically means working as the senior project advisor alongside an appointed project manager. For smaller projects — including marae developments, papakāinga, and single-building community or commercial projects — I can carry both the advisory and the operational project leadership, providing a single point of accountability so the kaupapa is held consistently from start to finish.
Project leadership that respects the kaupapa.
Forty years of construction experience used in service of the project's intent, including the cultural intent. The discipline of programme, budget, procurement, and contract management applied without compromising what the project is actually for.
Structuring projects so mana whenua are properly involved.
This includes how engagement is resourced, where decision-making sits, how cultural advisors are brought in and remunerated appropriately, and how the project programme allows space for tikanga rather than treating it as a delay.
Bridging cultural and commercial worlds.
Translating between the language of governance, finance, and construction on one side, and the language of kaupapa, whakapapa, and tikanga on the other. Helping commercial partners understand what the kaupapa requires; helping cultural partners navigate the realities of construction delivery.
Knowing when to step back.
Recognising the matters that are not mine to lead — tikanga, narrative, ceremony, cultural design direction — and ensuring the right people are holding them, properly resourced and properly heard.
Alongside, not on behalf of.
On a kaupapa-aligned project, my role is to support the project's leadership — including its cultural leadership — not to substitute for it. I expect to take direction on cultural matters from those whose mātauranga and standing makes them the right voice. My contribution is the construction and project advisory layer, offered with respect for the wider kaupapa.
I take on a small number of clients at any time, and I am embedded for the duration of the project rather than dropping in and out.
This is a developing part of my work, and one I want to grow. My construction experience is forty years deep; my professional engagement with te ao Māori is more recent and still building. I would rather name that honestly than overstate where I am. If we work together, you can expect me to bring my full experience to the project, to keep doing the cultural learning that is mine to do, and to be straight with you about anything I am not sure of.