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Tailored M&E Workshop Equips WTRC for Strategic Program Evaluation

The Wholistic Transformation Resource Center Foundation, Inc. (WTRC) has taken a significant step forward in strengthening its community development work by participating in a customized Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) capacity development and training workshop.

Facilitated by Step Up Consulting Services, the workshop was specifically designed to align with WTRC’s unique programs and long-term goals, focusing on enhancing internal systems for transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement. This initiative reflects WTRC’s commitment to using data-driven approaches to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of its interventions.

The training aimed to enhance participants’ understanding of core M&E concepts and frameworks, build their capacity to design and implement effective data collection strategies, and improve their ability to analyze and interpret results accurately. WTRC staff also learned to use various M&E tools—such as logic models, performance indicators, and dashboards—to monitor program success and make informed decisions. A key outcome of the workshop was the development of tailored M&E systems that align with the foundation’s mission and can support long-term monitoring and evaluation practices.

Throughout the training, WTRC staff engaged in intensive sessions covering a broad range of M&E topics, including the Logical Framework, Results-Based M&E, and Theory of Change. Participants were also equipped with practical skills in data collection and analysis using tools such as Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and structured surveys. To ensure high data quality and credibility, the Triangulation Method was introduced alongside modern digital tools like Google Forms, Tableau, and AI-powered platforms for data visualization and analysis.

By embedding strong M&E systems across its operations, WTRC aims to align its efforts more closely with the expectations of donors, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders. This capacity-building initiative not only strengthens internal processes but also reinforces WTRC’s dedication to continuous improvement and evidence-based development work. Ultimately, the foundation believes that more effective monitoring and evaluation will lead to deeper, more meaningful, and lasting impacts in the communities it serves.

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Step Up Assists Arts and Culture Workshops for Bohol

Step Up reignited its mission to help build sustainable communities through art and culture by reviving the Balik BOKAG initiative. This transformative project taps into the rich heritage and creative industries of communities along the Abatan River. Running from 2024 to 2027, this three-year program is a collaboration among the Abatan River Development Management Council (ARDMC), PROCESS Bohol, Inc., Kasing Sining Inc., local government units (LGUs) of Antequera, Balilihan, Catigbian, Cortes, and Maribojoc, and other stakeholders, with support from the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage Council and the Provincial Government of Bohol through the Center for Culture and Arts Development (CCAD).

Revitalizing the Abatan River Theater Space

At the heart of Balik BOKAG (short for Bol-anon Kabilin, Atong Gibahandi) is the vision of transforming the Abatan River Theater Space into a premier cultural venue. The initiative goes beyond physical infrastructure improvements, aiming to strategically position the theatre as a creative hub for the province and the region. Through dedicated training in artistic development, organizational management, and creative business, the program empowers local artists, cultural workers, and community leaders to plan and implement initiatives that create sustainable livelihoods for local communities while enriching Boholano heritage.

The revitalized theatre will not only host regular performances but also serve as a space for local talent to showcase their craft. To ensure its long-term success, the project emphasizes professional management and robust marketing strategies, envisioning the Abatan River as a vibrant cultural and economic centrepiece.

Workshops Lay Groundwork for Success

The initiative’s latest activities included a series of workshops. On August 22, 2024, stakeholders gathered at the PROCESS Conference Center in Tagbilaran City to reflect on the successes and lessons from the earlier phases of BOKAG (BOKAG 1, 2, and 3), which ran from 2015 to 2019. This evaluation included insights from community leaders, artists, and audiences, helping shape a roadmap for the next three years.

Building on this momentum, a two-day strategic planning session followed on November 11–12, 2024, at the scenic Buzzz of Bohol Bee Farm in Cortes. Participants—ranging from local councils to NGO representatives—collaboratively defined the project’s vision, mission, and core values. Discussions centered on the theater’s long-term sustainability, strategies to empower local communities, and the Abatan River’s role in showcasing Bohol’s cultural richness.

A Catalyst for Heritage and Progress

The Balik BOKAG project underscores the critical role of arts and culture in community development. By nurturing local talent and preserving the Boholano heritage, the initiative builds cultural pride and fosters economic resilience.

“Through initiatives like Balik BOKAG, we reaffirm the power of arts and culture to transform communities, creating opportunities for sustainable growth while celebrating our shared heritage,” said a representative from the ARDMC.

With momentum building, Balik BOKAG is poised to leave a lasting legacy—bringing the arts closer to the heart of Boholano life and ensuring that the creative spirit of the Abatan River continues to flow for generations to come.

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Step Up Supports Emerging Leaders through WRTC

Step Up was commissioned by the Wholistic Transformation Resource Center (WTRC) to facilitate Youth Development and Empowerment Training and Capacity Development on Project Management for the leaders of the Church of Nazarene—GMA as part of its ongoing partnership with the church.

Capacity Development on Project Management

The training, which took place from July 13 to September 14, 2024, was a key initiative to strengthen the project management skills of Church of Nazarene – GMA leaders. The blended sessions—face-to-face and online activities—focused on various stages of project management, including project conception, planning, execution, and monitoring.

The program followed a three-step approach to build the skills of project staff and volunteers:

  1. Capacity Assessment: The first step involved evaluating the current competencies of project staff and volunteers to determine the skills needed for effective project management.
  2. Project Management Strategy Development: In the second step, leaders and volunteers collaborated to create a comprehensive project management strategy detailing the tools and methods for successful project execution and monitoring.
  3. Monitoring and Documentation: The final phase of the training focused on equipping participants with the skills needed to document project progress and assess the impacts of their initiatives to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of their projects.

The training covered key topics like project initiation, planning, launching, and control, enabling participants to develop a structured approach to managing community-based projects. This initiative improved the leaders’ project management skills and reinforced WTRC’s mission of fostering holistic transformation through partnerships with churches, social enterprises, and other community-based organizations.

The completion of this training marks a significant milestone in the ongoing collaboration between Step Up, WTRC, and the Church of Nazarene—GMA. It reinforces the foundation’s commitment to developing leaders who can drive meaningful change in marginalized communities and support its mission of building stronger, more sustainable communities across the nation.

Youth Development and Empowerment

The training conducted from 20 July to 21 September 2024 focused on building leadership skills, fostering self-care, and enhancing confidence in public speaking. It equipped youth leaders to manage their activities effectively and lead with purpose.
The workshop was designed around key actions to empower participants and create inclusive, supportive spaces for personal and collective growth. Among these strategies were discussions on the importance of self-care and empathy toward others, ensuring that participants felt encouraged to create welcoming environments within their ministries.
A needs assessment conducted through focus group discussions revealed that participants were particularly keen on improving their public speaking abilities, especially when engaging with children and other youth in the ministry. They expressed a desire for leadership training that moved beyond traditional formats, advocating for more interactive, engaging, and meaningful activities. Participants were also eager to explore topics like mental health, online communities, and how to encourage youth participation in ministry.
The training was structured around four main sessions, each designed to be participatory and centred on peer learning. These sessions included:

  1. Session 1: Participation in an Inclusive and Safe Spaces (Care for Self and Others) – Emphasizing the importance of creating inclusive, caring environments where everyone’s voice can be heard.
  2. Session 2: Safety in the Online World – Offering tools and strategies to navigate the complexities of online engagement while ensuring safety for both leaders and youth members.
  3. Session 3: Building Interpersonal Relationships, Self-Confidence, and Communication Skills – Fostering stronger communication, interpersonal skills, and confidence to engage with others effectively.
  4. Session 4: The Leaders We Hope to Become – Encouraging youth to reflect on the qualities they wish to embody as future leaders, helping them align their values with their leadership style.

The dynamic and hands-on nature of the sessions allowed participants to interact directly with their peers, share ideas, and engage in plenary discussions. With an emphasis on creativity, group work, and idea-sharing, the training ensured that each participant had the chance to discover their personal strengths and overcome challenges, especially those related to public speaking.
“Interactive activities, group discussions, and peer-led sharing were key aspects of the training,” explained one participant. “It helped us learn from the facilitator and each other, making the experience much more meaningful.”
The training initiative aligns with Step Up’s broader mission to develop young leaders who are capable, confident, and ready to make a lasting impact in their communities. As the Church of Nazarene – GMA youth leaders implement the skills they’ve learned, Step Up hopes to continue supporting their growth and empowerment through future.

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Step Up Explores Capacity Building Partnership with WTRC for Projects and Youth Development

The Wholistic Transformation Resource Center Foundation, Inc., (WTRC) explores a partnership with Step Up Consulting Services to enhance capacity-building initiatives for its assisted organizations.

A focus group discussion was held at the Church of Nazarene in General Mariano Alvarez in Cavite to gather insights on the organization’s current needs. Participants explored effective interventions aimed at fostering empowerment and enabling communities to take initiative in their own development.

WTRC is a non-profit Christian organization focused on holistic transformation by addressing the complete needs of individuals, not just their economic ones. Rooted in Gospel principles, WTRC collaborates with churches, development organizations, and social enterprises to implement community development initiatives that meet the needs of partner communities. One key program supports marginalized children through faith-based schools, mobile education, daycare, and afterschool centers, offering Christian character formation, quality education, health and nutrition support, and family assistance.

The Step Up team is currently designing a series of training sessions focused on youth development and competency building in project management.

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Step Up Conducts Community Based-Enterprise Training and Mentoring Sessions for Ofamen Cacao Farm

Step Up Consulting Services conducted a series of workshops to capacitate the men and women of Calunasan, Calape Bohol who are involved in making charcoal briquettes.

Through the grant provided by the farm which the family through its CEO Ms Joy Pulchra Ofamen-Sarabia, the briquette processing equipment and machinery are shared with 40 families who are now engaged in briquette making using cacao pods and other farm organic wastes that could otherwise end up polluting the environment. The briquettes provide access to alternative and cheaper form of energy over wood, burns cleaner firewood and release fewer greenhouse gases.

The team conducted a series of training workshops on business development, costing and pricing, workflow management system, enterprise models, and marketing to make their briquette products commercially viable and sustainable. These workshops were held beginning November 2022 and will continue towards the first quarter of the next year.

The Ofamen Cacao Farm in Calunasan, Calape, Bohol is a recipient of the WHWise: i B L E n D N I C E 4WomEn*, a program launched by the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development l in partnership with Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT). MSU IIT is the program’s main implementer in collaboration with Miriam College (MC) and the University of the Philippines – Mindanao (UP-Min).

*WHWise: i B L E n D N I C E 4WomEn (innovation thru Building and Leveraging Entrepreneurship Development, Networking and Inclusive Community Engagement for Women Entrepreneurs) or Women-Helping-Women: Innovating Social Enterprises, is a program that brings together government agencies and private organizations to seek out and prepare women-led social enterprises for growth, scalability, and subsequent Venture Capitalist funding. The program provides a suite of services, including early-stage funding, training, skills development, mentorship, and business incubation. More importantly, it will provide access to technology to enable even women from rural communities to be part of the global economy.

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Step Up Trains Ugandan CSOs on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

Step Up’s strategy advisor, Michael Canares, was contracted by Common Ground Consulting to train civil society organizations (CSOs) on monitoring, evaluation, and learning. The training, which was held on 15-18 February 2022 via Zoom, is part of the various training programs conducted for Ugandan CSOs by the Civil Society Strengthening Activity (CSSA) training program funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

Twenty-two CSOs attended the training. The cohort included representatives from the Uganda Women’s Network, the National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders, White Ribbon Alliance, Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group, ICT Policy Center for Eastern and Southern Africa, among others.

Synchronous sessions took place from 1 to 5 pm Uganda time (5 to 10 pm Philippine time). Asynchronous sessions, on the other hand, took place every morning of each day through organization-based assignments that are required to be presented during the synchronous sessions each day.

The participants appreciated the training design and delivery. At the end of the training, most of them were excited to use their knowledge to improve the M&E systems of their organizations.

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Step Up Strategy Advisor Speaks at Indonesia’s Ministry of Home Affairs Forum

Mr. Michael Canares, Step Up Consulting’s strategy advisor was invited by the Indonesian Ministry of Home Affairs to speak at their workshop on “Leading Innovation in a Digital World”. The workshop was held online, attended by more than 200 participants – leaders of MOHA across Indonesia, last 24 November 2021.

Mr. Canares spoke about data-driven governance. He was invited through the Ford Foundation, once a partner of the Open Data Lab Jakarta where he was the Senior Research Manager for digital citizenship for almost three years. Mr. Canares spoke about concrete examples were governments across the world use data to improve public service delivery, strengthen effective public management, increase accountability mechanisms for public officials, and enhance citizen participation in governance.

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Step Up Conducts Training on Local Road Asset Management for Negros Oriental

Step Up Consulting strategy advisor was invited by the Provincial Government of Negros Oriental to conduct a training on Local Road Asset Management for the members of its local road network management committee. The training was conducted online last October 29-November 5, 2021.

The participants comprised of representatives from the provincial offices of engineering, accounting, planning and development, budget, treasury, internal audit, general services, and assessor. The training was based entirely on the Local Road Asset Management Manual (see picture above) prepared by Mr. Michael Canares for the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) with funding and technical support from the United Nations Development Program.

On 16 November 2020, DILG Secretary Eduardo Ano issued DILG Memorandum Circular 2020-155 mandating the adoption of the Local Road Asset Management Manual by local government units. This aims to improve the valuation and recording of local road assets for better local road management.

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Step Up Strategy Adviser Leads Data-Driven Governance Training for Philippine Public Servants

Step Up’s strategy adviser, Michael Canares, was the resource person in the recently-conducted Data-Driven Governance training for the Philippine government held online last 18-20 May 2021.

Mr. Canares was contracted by the the United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development. The training was co-sponsored by the Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippine government, and the Chief Information Officers Forum.

A total of 62 participants attended the training from different national government agencies as well as electric cooperatives. Among those who attended were representatives from the Department of Budget and Management, Civil Service Commission, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Insurance Commission of the Department of Finance. Officials from electric cooperatives of Zambales, Cagayan, La Union, Palawan, Pampanga, San Jose, and Sorsogon were also present.

Topics discussed include data revolution and data justice, data governance and management, analytics and algorithmic bias, as well as data culture. The training was delivered by Mr. Canares using a mix of lectures, case studies, as well as tech-enabled audience engagement strategies.

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Step Up Facilitates GAD Planning and Budgeting for the Municipality of Catigbian

Michael Canares, strategy advisor of Step Up Consulting was invited by the Municipality of Catigbian to facilitate the Gender and Development (GAD) planning and budgeting workshop for 2022. The activity was held at the Bohol Bee Farm Resort in Dauis, Bohol last March 3-5, 2021, and was attended by department heads and key officials of the municipality as well as representatives from civil society groups.

The workshop was held after a series of sessions on gender sensitivity, the Magna Carta of Women, Gender Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, and Gender Analysis Tools facilitated by several resource persons, including Step Up’s gender expert, Ester Espinosa.

In the workshop, Mr. Canares emphasized the essential elements of GAD Planning and Budgeting, namely, GAD focal point system (GPFS), GAD capacity development, gender audit, and GAD database and sex-disaggregated data. He advised the municipality stakeholders that if these elements are not yet present, they should invest considerable resources to have these in place. For example, he emphasized that without a GAD database, the identification and analysis of gender issues will be difficult.

Vice Mayor Esteban Angilan Jr. in his closing remarks, encouraged the stakeholders present to consciously monitor the plans and programs they were able to identify during the workshop to ensure that this will result to concrete benefits to the people of the municipality.