About Us
We are a specialist consultancy and service provider supporting clients who are advancing understanding of rare diseases, supporting the rare disease community and driving innovation in rare disease diagnosis and treatment. We help our clients maximise the impact of their work and their products and services. We specialise in helping :
- Patient support organisations build the capability needed to support the communities they serve.
- Healthcare professionals, researchers, service providers, government agencies and pharmaceutical companies to better understand the impacts of rare disease.
- Improve awareness and understanding of rare diseases and their impact across the rare disease ecosystem and beyond.
- Inspire and enable the rare disease community and those working with them to improve their wellbeing, push their boundaries and realise their full potential.
Founded by Clive Phillips after his diagnosis with Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (MMN). We are a social enterprise that invests it’s profits in projects that improve awareness and understanding of MMN.
Services
Strategic Planning Support and Problem Solving Workshops
Transformational Change Advice
Executive Coaching and Leadership Development Programmes
Facilitating Patient Advisory Boards
Gathering patient insights and experience data
Fund and Awareness Raising Campaign Management
Keynote Speeches
Film Production and Distribution
Podcast Production
Outdoor Adventure and Community Event Management
Examples of Our Work
Fundraising challenges that have raised over US$200,000 for Multifocal Motor Neuropathy research
Production of No One Rides Alone – Feature Length Film about the Tour de MMN 2025
Support to the Clinical Governance Board of a national healthcare service provider
Keynote addresses at medical conferences, patient support organisation meetings and training courses for staff of a national healthcare service provider.
Provision of strategic planning support to an international Not for Profit and a national patient advocacy organisation.
Our Founder
Clive Phillips combines authentic patient experience with extensive senior executive leadership experience. A British Army Veteran, from the heat of the desert to the cold of the polar regions Clive has led teams that have achieved ambitious, challenging goals under the most demanding circumstances. After service that included deployments in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, Clive moved to New Zealand, from where he has led disaster response operations in New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea and logistics projects in Antarctica.
Before founding Making the Most of Now, Clive worked as a Strategic Business Advisor, Transformational Change Specialist and Leadership Coach. A lover of the outdoors Clive has led climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking and bike-packing expeditions in Europe and beyond.
A former Board Director of the GBS|CIDP Foundation International, Clive serves as a Patient Representative on the NZ Blood Service Clinical Governance Board, and lives with MMN every day. Making the Most of Now isn’t just professional expertise—it’s a personal mission backed by real operational capability.
Contact Us
Want to know more or keen to explore how we can help you then please call us on +64(0)21771624 or email us at at clive@makingthemostofnow.co.nz.
Rare Disease Patient Advocacy 