Step Up team during the Christmas gathering in December 2013.
The team of Step Up Consulting chose to celebrate Christmas 2013 in a simple but meaningful gathering held at Dao Diamond Hotel in Tagbilaran City last 21 December 2013. The activity gathered the consultants, researchers, and administrative staff of the firm who were involved in its various projects in 2013.
It has been a tradition of Step Up Consulting to gather its team every end of the year to say thank you to the people that has contributed to the achievements of the firm. For ten years now, Step Up Consulting has benefited from the competence and commitment of its pool of consultants, researchers, and administrative staff who, despite their work commitments elsewhere, contributed expertise and dedication to the firm’s projects.
From a company that started offering services by using computers at internet cafes, Step Up Consulting has grown into a firm that earned the respect not only of Philippine companies but also organizations based abroad. Originally, it offered management consulting services to for-profit institutions but now, the firm’s portfolio is largely composed of government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Step Up’s services also as expanded to research and evaluation, and capacity building.
Despite the natural calamities that affected the province of Bohol and the country in the last quarter of the year, the company is still thankful because its team members delivered its commitments to clients and share resources to those affected by the calamity.
Mr. Canares’ talk, attended by academics and graduate students of the school, was entitled “When Investing in the Local Does or Does Not Work: Case Studies from Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines”. The presentation focused on four case studies and argues that there are defining patterns where investments in local development work and contexts where the power of the local can be harnessed to achieve desirable social ends.
In his introduction to Mr. Canares, Professor Stephen Migiro, Dean and Head of School expressed optimism that future partnerships can be explored by the school and Mr. Canares, as well as with Holy Name University, where Mr. Canares serves as managing editor of an academic journal.
Managing Consultant of Step Up Consulting Services was one of the 40 emerging scholars invited to attend the ICT and Development Conference in Cape Town, South Africa scheduled on 7-10 December 2013. The conference is one of the premier gatherings of researchers, scholars, and professionals working in the area of ICT and its role in social, economic, and political development.
IDRC and the Government of Canada funded the participation of Mr. Canares to attend the event and a pre-conference research training facilitated by the University of Cape Town (UCT) and University of Western Cape (UWC). The pre-conference training, which focuses on Opening Up the ICT Ecosystem through Inclusion, Training, and Dialogue (OUITD), is held from 2-6 December 2013, in the facilities of UCT and UWC.
According to OUITD program chair Prof. Julian May, there were approximately 180 applicants for the program. A total of 40 participants were selected coming from different countries as Canada, USA, UK, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, and the Philippines, among others. Mr. Canares is the only representative of the Philippines to the program.
Mr. Canares’ work presented in the conference is on e-taxation. Fieldwork was conducted with the assistance of Step Up research associate Ms. Vera Villocido-Gisete.
The three Step Up interns, Joseph, Anthony, and Abigael, during the annual Step Up Gathering in December 2012.
Three interns of Step Up Consulting Services passed the recent board examination for Certified Public Accountants conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission last October 2013. These interns, then students of Holy Name University, spent two months at Step Up Consulting in the summer of 2012 where they were trained in Step Up’s core services – development research, financial management, and capacity building.
Mr. Anthony Tanio, Ms. Mari Abigael Antoni, and Mr. Joseph Lago were among the 4,246 successful examinees who passed the October 2013 exams. When they worked at Step Up, they were assigned to perform the critical task of assessing financial statements of 10 provincial local governments in the Philippines in order to compute increases in locally generated fees and revenues. They were also tasked to conduct audits, serve as documenters in trainings, and conduct research on internal audit.
The three interns, during the annual gathering of Step Up personnel last December 2013, expressed their appreciation of the kind of activities that Step Up involved them in. Step Up has always been consistent in ensuring that the interns are exposed to different learning concepts as applied in actual work contexts.
Step Up management, together with its consultants and personnel, wishes to extend its congratulations to Anthony, Abigail, and Joseph. Step Up wishes them well in their careers.
Michael Canares, with some of the participants in the India Meet. Dr. Michael Gurstein (middle, in green polo) is one of the mentors of the project.
Mr. Michael Canares, Managing Consultant of Step Up Consulting Services and Team Leader of the Open LGU Research Project was one of those invited to attend the Regional Project Meeting of the Emerging Impacts of Open Data project funded by IDRC through the World Wide Web Foundation. The meeting was held at the The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, India last 16-19 July 2013 and was attended by more than twenty people from within Asia, and from the UK and Canada. The meeting also coincided with the TERI workshop on Open Government Data and Resources.
The meeting introduced the research project to stakeholders in India. At the same time, the participants were also orientated to the state and condition of open government data in India. An afternoon project launch on 16th June was done with representatives from different sectors in India – government, civil society, business community, and IT professionals. India is one of the countries with a right to information act (RTI) that has since empowered citizens to demand from government data to explain, for example, its spending and investment decisions.
The meeting also provided an opportunity for the researchers to discuss different tools used in the study of open government data. Among those discussed in the forum were stakeholder’s mapping, surveys, follow-the-data, news analysis, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. Mr. Canares, in one of the sessions, led the discussion on the use of stakeholders’ mapping to define how stakeholders (e.g. business, civil society, research institutions) interact with government, and use government data for their purposes. This workshop was attended by one of ODDC project mentors, Michael Gurstein.
Michael Gurstein is one of the leading thinkers in community informatics. Most of his work deals with how information and communications technology empowers and enables communities. In this meeting, Dr. Gurstein contributed significantly to the discussion most especially in unearthing underlying theories informing the methods and in refining analysis frames of the different research methods that the researchers would like to use.
The Open LGU Research Project was formally launched in Bohol on July 23, 2013 at MetroCentre Hotel and Convention Center in Tagbilaran City. The activity was attended by a vibrant mix of representatives from the civil society organizations, business sector, academe, government, church groups, and media. Invited speakers from the government, namely, Atty. John Titus J. Vistal, CPA of the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) and Ms. Mary Ann Aparece-Verga of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) – Bohol presented the situation of open data in the province, while Dr. Emmanuel C. Lallana, Chief Executive of Ideacorp and mentor for the project explained how open data is a tool for citizen participation which brings us to the goal for democracy and citizen empowerment.
The project is a research study entitled “Opening the Gates: Will Open Data Initiatives make Local Governments in the Philippines More Transparent” that will look at how online sharing of governance information is making an impact on local government systems and on how data and information are being accessed and used by civil society and intermediary groups. The funding for this work has been provided through the World Wide Web Foundation ‘Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries’ research project, supported by grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre. The research will be conducted in three provincial sites, as, Bohol for Visayas, Bulacan for Luzon and South Cotabato for Mindanao – these provinces being among those awarded with DILG’s Best Governed Province.
This research study is being done by Step Up Consulting Services, a local social enterprise serving local and international clients, managed by Mr. Michael P. Cañares who is leading the research team. During the launch, Mr. Canares gave a lightning talk on the project. Other experts composing the team are Ms. Mariejoe F. Narca, Ms. Jaremilleta M. Arawiran and Mr. Joseph de Guia. The audience’s interest and appreciation for the project, during the launch, gives the research team the right boost and momentum as it takes further steps for project implementation. Mr. Canares noted in jest that at this stage of the study the team is already getting recommendations even before the findings are presented.
Mrs. Marcela Dapar, a beneficiary of the SWCF project. Image courtesy of DISOP.
Step Up Consulting Services was contracted by the Soil and Water Conservation Foundation (SWCF) to conduct the terminal evaluation of a three–year project on income generation, community organization strengthening, and environmental management funded by DISOP and Misereor, two European-based NGOs. The project, “Employability and Capability Building of Farmes in Selected Barangays of Batuan Bohol” aims, that by the end of 2013, the livelihood and sustainable income of members of the communities in 7 barangays along the Makapiko River and its tributaries in Batuan Municipality of Bohol is secured for the long term. It also strengthens previously assisted organizations of SWCF in the Eskaya communities in Sierra Bullones, Pilar, Garcia Hernandez, and Guindulman.
All seven barangays directly assisted have people’s organization, mostly in the form of cooperatives and associations. The five of the organizations are considered weak in their structure, have limited membership, and are not very stable as a potential source of income, training, reasonable credit and entrepreneurship development for the community. In most areas there is poor implementation of environment laws that has led to environmental degradation in terms of chemical pollution (pesticide and commercial fertilizer), solid waste pollution, removal of forest cover, biodiversity loss through hunting and collection of flora and fauna and disturbance of local caves and their resources. All these activities are magnified when done on karst because of the very nature of the geological formation itself.
To respond to these concerns, the project aims to achieve three objectives, to wit;
Associations/NGOs are capacitated to manage their affairs and link among themselves and other stakeholders to create a sustainable and conducive environment for securing their livelihoods.
Agricultural and non- agricultural enterprises for the local residents, especially those who are now below the poverty line are newly created and strengthened.
Project beneficiaries are better capacitated to deal with adverse affects of climate, political and social disturbances as well as able to reverse the environmental degradation of their natural resources.
Alvin Luis Acuzar, Evaluation Team Leader
Mr. Alvin Luis Acuzar, former associate of Step Up manages the evaluation project. Alvin is currently the Executive Director of the Bol-anon United Sectors Working for the Advancement of Community Concerns (BUSWACC). He is joined by Doreen Lerin, Marilou Sale, Lorebien Lagapa, Arlen Salgados-Canares, and Edaline Bolotaulo, all seasoned community researchers of Step Up with more than five years of experience in development evaluation.
This evaluation has three objectives:
To evaluate the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and outcomes of the project to the situation of targeted people and groups in the community, with particular focus on farmers and their families.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the projects in view of their objectives and to analyse the sustainability of the project results
To assess the roles and contributions of the different stakeholders in the implementation of the project
A training on Fiduciary Risk Assessment on the Use of Financial and Procurement Systems for PRMF Funds was conducted on June 4-7, 2013 at The Gardens, in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. The training was attended by representatives from the different road-sector related offices of the Provincial Government of Bukidnon, more particulary, the Provincial Engineer’s Office, Provincial General Services Office, Provincial Budget Office, Provincial Treasurer’s Office, Provincial Planning and Development Office, Provincial Internal Audit Services Office, Provincial Accountant’s Office, Provincial Legal Office, the Provincial Human Resource Management and Development Office, and the Bids and Awards Committee Secretariat.
The objective of the engagement is to improve the capacities of the Provincial Government of Bukidnon on risk assessment particularly fiduciary risk and determine measures or treatments that could be implemented to reduce the impact of the fiduciary risks.
Managing Consultant of Step Up Consulting was the resource person for the said training. The participants expressed high satisfaction of the results of the training. As customary, evaluation sheets were distributed to participants where they rated their experience in term of three areas – content, process and facilitator. The ratings indicated that the content is applicable to the workplace of the participants, that there is appropriate amount of information discussed in the workshop, and that the knowledge they have learned are new to them. They also said that they were able to fully participate in the sessions, discuss and form their ideas, and that they are eager to apply their learning when they go back to their work stations.
Capacity building is one of the strongest areas of Step Up’s services. As expected, the participants commented that the learning facilitator managed the learning process and time well, that he relayed the knowledge to participants in an understandable and clear manner. Mr. Canares was also seen as very responsive to participants questions and flexible enough to adapt to the learning temperament of participants.
Mr. Canares (far right), with Jose Luis Corragio of the Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento (far left), keynote speaker of the conference and Anita Amorim, Senior Affairs and South-South Specialist of the UN-ILO.
Michael Canares, Step Up managing consultant, presents his paper in an international conference convened by the United Nations Research Institute for Sustainable Development (UNRISD) last 6-8 May 2013 at the International Labour Organization (ILO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr. Canares’ paper was one of the 44 selected presentations in the conference out of a total of 560 submissions.
The conference presentations revolve around the theme “The Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE)” organized by both UNRISD and ILO. It was attended by delegates from more than 70 countries. Mr. Canares’ work entitled “Scaling Up: Interactions, Challenges, and Opportunities of Social and Solidarity Economy in the Philippines” was part of the panel on SSE and Local Development chaired by UNDP Director Petra Lantz. It was the only paper coming from Southeast Asia and the only presentation tackling SSE in the Philippines and in the region.
“I was fortunate to be one of those selected to present in the conference, with a generous grant from the South-South Cooperation Office of the ILO”, Mr. Canares said. The paper received substantial comments from his researcher friends prior to its submission to UNRISD. Very recently, UNRISD communicated with Mr. Canares regarding future publication plans of the paper which is currently available in its draft form at the UNRISD website.
Social and solidarity economy is regaining interest in academic circles and policy debates because of the failure of neo-classical economics to promote equitable and sustainable growth as evidenced by recent financial crisis in the US and in Europe. It was also brought back into the agenda after the Rio+20 Meeting a year back in Brazil to press for country commitments to challenge current models of development that are just mere expansions of the capitalist model.
The UNRISD and ILO conference in Geneva is an effort of both agencies to rethink development models and present Social and Solidarity Economy as an alternative. SSE involves several forms of business organizations, cooperatives, self-help groups, and community-based enterprises, the subject of Mr. Canares’ paper.
The network meeting was held at the Open Data Institute in London, United Kingdom last 24-25 April, 2013. It was an an opportunity for project leaders of the 17 projects to get to know each other, and to explore shared research issues in understanding emerging impacts of open data.
The participants also attended an evening reception prior to the meeting at the Lancaster House co-hosted by the Open Government Partnership steering committee. At this reception, Web Foundation founder, and Web inventor, Sir Tim Berner-Lee formally launched the ODDC project and expressed the importance and potential contribution of the research to the work of the Open Government partnership, more particularly in exploring issues related to the use of open government data across the globe.
While in London, Mr. Canares also took the opportunity to attend the symposium on Data Driven Public Services hosted by Future Gov and sponsored by Capita. In this symposium, examples of how data can be effectively used to deliver services on the part of governments, or demand for better service delivery, on the part of citizens and neighborhoods.
Step Up Consulting 