UP ISSI and DOST-PCAARRD host MAScIGLA Unified SEPMC
The UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI), in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD), conducted the MAScIGLA Unified Social Enterprise Planning and Management Course (SEPMC) from March 10 to 12, 2026, at the Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) in Diliman, Quezon City. Twenty-six participants from six community organizations of the MAScIGLA project across Luzon and the Visayas, along with representatives from DA-ATI, completed the three-day training.
The event was formally opened with messages from Dir. Noel A. Catibog, Director of the Technology Transfer and Promotion Division (TTPD) of DOST-PCAARRD, and UP ISSI Director Asst. Prof. Melanie M. Moraga-Leaño.
The six participating organizations, together with their respective site coordinators, were as follows:
- Mahaplag Jackfruit Growers Association — Mahaplag, Leyte
- Marabut Native Delicacies Vendors’ Association — Marabut, Samar
- Luna Apayao Organic Practitioners Association — Luna, Apayao
- Women Organic Farmers Association of Pudtol — Pudtol, Apayao
- Cacaligan Coffee Farmers Organization — Tabuk, Kalinga
- Aguet Farmers Association — Lagangilang, Abra
The SEPMC covered 18 lessons organized around four core areas of social enterprise management: marketing, operations, human resources, and finance. As the culminating activity, each organization developed and presented a Social Enterprise Plan before a panel composed of Asst. Prof. Reynold Ferdinand Manegdeg of the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning and UP ISSI Director, Asst. Prof. Melanie M. Moraga-Leaño.
MAScIGLA, which stands for Mobilizing and Advancing Science-based Social Enterprises through Innovation and Guided Learning towards Organizational Agility, is a DOST-PCAARRD-funded program implemented by UP ISSI in partnership with select state universities and colleges and local government units. It aims to connect science and knowledge-based technologies with communities and support their development into sustainable, self-governing social enterprises.
For the partner organizations, the Social Enterprise Plans they leave with are more than training outputs — they are working documents that chart each community’s next steps toward financial sustainability and organizational growth, developed by the members themselves under the guidance of the MAScIGLA program. Over the next few months, a designated coach will conduct regular face-to-face and virtual coaching sessions with each organization to support the finalization and implementation of their Social Enterprise Plans.