Step Up Consulting

Step Up Managing consultant Michael Canares was one of the 45 scholars invited to attend a 21-day intensive training on Development and Inequality in June 2011, and the only scholar from the Philippines to attend the institute. Another Filipino, Mr. Roderrick Galam was in the institute but is currently based in the UK pursuing his doctoral studies in Sociology. The fellowship was made possible with the generous support from Sovereign Bank, Banco Santander and Brown University. The scholars were trained at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, with prominent authors Patrick Heller, Richard Snyder, Daniel Smith, and Gianpaoulo Baiocchi as convenors. Speakers from the World Bank, Harvard University, School of Oriental and African Studies, and coming from different disciplines as economics, sociology, political science, anthropology, among others, lectured at the institute.

In 2010, Step Up Consulting Services was hired by Fundacion Ipade to conduct a midterm evaluation of its project, the Asian Convenion in three countries in Southeast Asia – Cambodia, Philippines, and Vietnam. This month, Step Up concludes the engagement with the approval of the evaluation report by Fundacion Ipade’s management in Madrid.

The team of Step Up is composed of Managing Consultant Michael Canares (Philippines), Dr. Karen Lawrence as team leader (UK), and Rowena Soriaga (Philippines).

Michael Canares, managing consultant of Step Up Consulting Services, facilitated the learning session on monitoring and evaluation for GREAT Women Project sites in the province of Bohol last 26-27 May 2011 at Alona Kew Beach Resort in Panglao.

The training was attended by 34 participants coming from the provincial government of Bohol and the municipalities of Jagna, Balilihan, and Buenavista.  The activity aimed at capacitating the local government units in setting up a monitoring and evaluation system for their respective LGUs.  Ms. Liza Quirog, provincial Board Member Freda Tirol graced the affair.

The activity was sponsored by the Philippine Commission on Women and the Provincial Government of Bohol with funding support from the Canadian International Development Agency.

Step Up Consulting Services facilitated a three-day workshop for the Provincial Treasurer’s Office of Bohol. The workshop was a review of revenue collection practices of the province of Bohol to aid the PTO in crafting a strategic action plan to achieve collection targets in 2012.

Michael Canares, manager of Step Up facilitated the workshop held last 18-20 May 2011 at La Roca Hotel, Tagbilaran City. Around 30 employees from the PTO attended the activity. Jean Celeste Paredes, research associate of Step Up was the documenter for the activity.  The workshop was supported by the Provincial Roads Management Facility of the Australian Agency for International Development.

Step Up Consulting services was contracted by the Philippine Commission on Women to conduct a training workshop on results-based management for approximately 30 participants. The training was held at Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon City, Manila and was attended by no less than PCW Executive Director Emmeline Verzosa.

Step Up Managing Director was the facilitator for the three-day training conducted on 12-14 May 2011. The participants very much appreciated the training approach which consisted of theoretical discussions interspersed with applications on case studies which Mr. Canares has written.

Step Up Managing Consultant Michael Canares attends two evaluation presentations for World Vision assisted projects in the country.  He went to General Santos in April 29 to attend the evaluation results presentation of ADP Saranggani at Casa Luisa as part of his task as coordinator of the national evaluation team.

On May 6, 2010, he also attended the evaluation results presentation of ADP Iloilo held at the Iloilo Grand Hotel.  Mr. Canares spearheads the evaluation report preparation of eight area development programs across the country,  four of which are scheduled to be completed end of May, this year.

Step Up conducts data analysis training workshop for World Vision Development Foundation, Inc. in Cebu City last April 6-8 2010. The workshop was attended by representatives of four area development programs from Saranggani, Iloilo, Aklan, and Cebu.

The workshop was facilitated by managing consultant Michael P. Canares and Jocelyn Mariscal of World Vision. Marijoe Narca also handled a session on data consolidation using an excel-based analysis tool. Documenters were Hedz Paredes, Step Up research associate and Jayneil Nacorda, Step Up trainee.

The FAME Project intends to review organizational systems of BUSWACC-assisted projects in Bohol in order to improve financial management, auditabiity, and management arrangements of these associations.  Consequently, it also seeks to enhance the community outreach program of Holy Name University College of Business and Accountancy by allowing its teachers and students opportunity to greater community involvement.

In 2006, Michael Canares, head of Step Up Consulting Services and this project’s coordinator implemented the “Building Capacities for Financial Management of Water Users Associations in Bohol Province”. The project aimed to analyse the financial competencies of water user associations and help build their capacities for financial management. The engagement consisted of three major components; these were training and facilitation, management consulting, and documentation.  The outputs of the project were an accountings systems manual and standard financial reports on the part of the people’s organizations.

The first round of this project, THE FAME PROJECT 2010, takes off from this particular engagement. The particular interest of the first phase of the  project are the organizations currently implementing livelihood projects.  These POs were assisted by BUSWACC (Bohol United Sectors Working for the Advancement of Community Concerns) through the ACCESS Project.

The FAME PROJECT 2011 continues to support BUSWACC and four of its assisted organizations, more particularly, Catarman Mother’s Association, Bohol Local Development Foundation, thefairtradeshoppe – Tagbilaran, and Albur Calamay Makers Association.

The donation of Step Up is used to defray exhibit and partner expenses, as well as prizes to the winning teams.

Managing Consultant of Step Up Consulting Services together with Research Associate Jean Celeste Paredes assists World Vision Philippines in the end-of-phase program evaluation of 4 area development programs (ADP) across the country.  These ADPs are located in Saranggani, Iloilo, Aklan, and Cebu province.

The consulting engagement kicked off with a series of meetings in Manila and Cebu in January and February.  The first inter-ADP activity was held 3-5 March 2011 at Century 21 Hotel in Iloilo City.

The Philippine Commission on Women hired the services of the managing consultant of Step Up to facilitate a module development workshop on proposal development using the RBM approach.  The activity, participated in by consultants coming from the provinces of Quezon, Naga, Iloilo, Davao, Bohol, General Santos, Ifugao, and Leyte, was held last January 18 – 22 at Orchid Garden Suites Manila.