Step Up Assists Vincentian Missionaries Social Development Foundation

Payatas dumpsite, courtesy of Sean Miller’s blog at seanmillerblogs.com

Step Up signs recently a consulting contract with the Vincentian Missionaries Social Development Foundation, Inc. (VMSDFI).  The non-government organization is based in Quezon City and has tasked Step Up to formulate a business plan for a community enterprise that it helped establish in Payatas.

The Journal of Environment and Urbanization (1998) described VMSDFI as “a church-based organization which has been working in the urban slum community of Payatas, Quezon City, since 1991, in pursuit of community development goals for the lowest 20 per cent of the urban poor population.”  Its office is located at 221 Tandang Sora Avenue, NIA Road, Quezon City.

In the initial fieldwork, it was observed that while technical skills and assets are available at the level of the people’s organization assisted by VMSDFI, management skills that would make a community enterprise sustainable is wanting.  Step Up envisions to refocus VMSDFI’s efforts in assisting the organization through the preparation of a business plan suited to the context of both the beneficiary group and the assisting organization. The beneficiary group, in this case, manufactures different products made from waste and other materials.

Lead consultant for this engagement is Mr. Alvin Luis Acuzar assisted by research associate Anthony Tanio.

Managing Consultant of Step Up an Associate of ClimSystems

Mr. Michael Canares, Managing Consultant of Step Up Consulting Services, is selected as one of the associates of ClimSystems.

CLIMsystems was incorporated on 14 April 2003. The Directors of the Company are: Richard Warrick (Chairman of the Board); Peter Urich, Wei Ye, Thomas McClunie and Subramanyan Kanakasabapathy.

CLIMsystems and the SimCLIM software system have evolved from a research-based program called CLIMPACTS that began at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand.

CLIMsystems Ltd, a company based in New Zealand, is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art climate change risk and adaptation assessment tools and services for a wide range of clients.

Mr. Canares is one of the associates in Monitoring and Evaluation.