Reconciliation Action Plans are about taking good intent and turning it into action.
The Black Lives Matter protests which have erupted across the globe have caused loads of Australians to rethink the issues affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the remainder of the population are well known, however the protests created new urgency to do something about them.
In July, the Australian government unveiled new Close the Gap targets including reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.
For organisations that really feel the urgency act there’s one obvious solution – a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
In 2006, Reconciliation Australia launched RAPs as a way for organisations to incorporate strategic reconciliation initiatives as a part of their enterprise plans. The intention of a RAP is to create meaningful opportunities to your organisation to actively assist and recognise Indigenous Australians. Like many initiatives, reconciliation is a process that will evolve as you and your organisation begin to take action.
RAPs are broken down into four maturity levels that reflect where organisations are of their reconciliation journey. They’re: Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For instance, the Innovate level is for organisations that already understand the place they will improve on Indigenous issues and have begun taking motion to actively address them.
The first step for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. “Contact the RAP staff at Reconciliation Australia and discover out which degree you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP crew will send you a template that will outline what it is advisable do. There are some primary compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia comparable to celebrating nationwide Reconciliation Day and growing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s in regards to the modifications you can make.”
Because quite a lot of organisations will start at the Replicate stage, this guide will outline the pillars that you must set up to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is the place it all begins.
It may well assist to look into why RAPs are so important as well as the current issues facing Indigenous people. Reports comparable to Shut the Gap can provide context to your RAP and may assist you to with the next step.
Safe support
Part of a successful RAP is establishing support for reconciliation initiatives throughout your entire organisation. In most cases this must start on the top.
“Most often I discover that if people are offered with the details, they beautiful quickly get on board with desirous to be part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are three per cent of the population. They’ll’t do the heavy lifting when it comes to change and infrastructure change, societal change, or changing attitudes.
“RAPs are a way of stepping in and making meaningful change.”
Over 1,000 organisations have formalised RAPs, and their implementation has had a real impact on improving employee understanding of Indigenous issues, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a circulation-on effect. It makes employees more engaged with their community they usually often choose to donate to, or volunteer with, Indigenous organisations as a result.
A RAP also solidifies your organisation’s commitment to making a culturally safe work environment, which expands your recruiting pool by making your workplace a more attractive employer to Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander employees.
Set up a working group
The subsequent step is to form a working group that can oversee all the RAP process. This group will have to be made up of various representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is accountable for planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to include members who’ve some actual energy to make adjustments within the organisation, and members who understand it from a policy and tradition perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really successful, you’ll want involvement from members who work with clients or shoppers, so that folks outside your organisation understand you are trying to make a difference.
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