Step Up Consulting

Step Up Consulting Services assisted three municipalities in the formulation of its Executive-Legislative Agenda. These are the municipalities of Jagna, Dauis, and Buenavista.  The three municipalities had their ELA workshops at Bohol Plaza Resort and Restaurant in separate dates: Jagna (August 10-12, 2010), Dauis (August 18-19, 2010), and Balilihan (August 24-26).

These activities were well attended by the municipal mayors, vice mayors, sanggunian bayan members, NGO representatives, barangay captains, and department heads of the LGUs.

Mr. Michael Canares, managing consultant of Step Up Consulting Services was invited as resource person by the Peace and Equity Foundation on its two-day phase down planning for provincial access centers last 5-6 August at Maxwell Hotel, Cebu City.  Present in the planning were three PAC respresentatives in the Visayas, namely, the Bol-anon United Sectors Working for the Advancement of Community Concerns, the Nortehanon Access Center of Samar, and All R Up of Cebu.  Mr. Canares talked about financial health, portfolio management, cash flow budgeting and business planning.

The Municipality of Badiangan, Iloilo recently held a seminar-workshop on the preparation of a Gender-responsive Comprehensive Development Plan at San Antonio Beach Resort, in Roxas City. The activity was done last July 28 to 30, 2010 with Step Up managing consultant Michael Canares as lead facilitator.  The activity was attended by 18 participants from the municipality of Badiangan, 1 representative from NEDA REgion 6 and the assistant provincial planning and development coordinator of the province of Iloilo. Funding of the activity was provided by the Great Women Project and coordinated by the Local Area Coordinator Bing Lao.

Step Up recently concluded the organizational development assessment of a child-focused non-profit organization based in Davao City, Pag-ugmad sa Kabataan Foundation. The engagement culminated with the preparation of a participatory OD plan that the organization will pursue in one year starting August 2010.

Ilog Kinderhome Foundation, Inc., a child-focused social development institution based at Ilog, Negros Occidental, conducted its midterm assessment for the Empowering Indigenous Peoples for Inclusive Development Project at the Racsos Woodland Resort, Guimbal, Iloilo last 1 to 4 July, 2010.

The project is implemented with funding support by the European Union until December 2013.  Mr. Canares, managing consultant of Step Up Consulting Services facilitated the midterm assessment.  His involvement in this project started last year when he helped package the proposal for application with the European Union.

Mr. Michael Canares, managing consultant of Step Up Consulting Services supported the efforts of the Bohol Organic Farmers Alliance, an aggrupation of groups, associations, and cooperatives that promote organic farming in Bohol in a recently concluded training on Alliance Building and Board Governance. The activity was conducted last 22nd of June 2009 at the FCB Foundation Training Room, Tagbilaran City.

Step Up Consulting Services signed a new contract with Kindernothilfe-Germany to conduct an organizational assessment of one of its partners in the Philippines based in Davao City.  The engagement intends to assist the partner to come up with critical action steps in ensuring organizational effectiveness and efficiency.

The engagement is to be implemented for the whole month of June 2010 with terminal report due 5 days after the end of the month.

Step Up Consulting Services was contracted by the Municipality of Pavia, in Iloilo to facilitate the preparation of a gender-responsive comprehensive development plan. A workshop was held with the planning body of the LGU last June 9 to 11 at Tequero Adventure Resort in Guimaras.

Michael Canares facilitated the three-day activity upon the request of the Great Women Project local area coordinator Ms. Bing Lao.

Michael Canares attends this week a training on mainstreaming gender in the preparation of the Comprehensive Development Plan.  He is joined by an associate of Step Up Ms. Regina Estorba-Macalandag, invited personally by the Local Area Coordinator Ms. Ester Espinosa.

The training is held at the MMLDC in Antipolo, May 24-25 and is participated in by roughly 40 people across the country.

The Provincial Technical Working Group on food products headed by Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Mayette Gasatan conducted its planning session last 21 May 2010 at Casa Rey Francis, Tagbilaran City.  The activity was intended to define priorities of the working group in four priority products, namely, ubi, banana chips, cara-beef kusahos, and calamay.  As an output, the planning workshop was able to define the priority action areas of the agencies present to ensure that micro-entrepreneurs engaged in the production process will be assisted in making their livelihoods sustainable.

The PTWG on Food is composed of several agencies. Besides BCCI, national agencies as the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agrarian Reform, Agricultural Training Institute, Bohol Agricultural Promotion Center, and business sector representatives (Bohol Quality Pastries, Bucarez Processing) were present in the gathering.