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 plenty of Australians to rethink the issues affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the inhabitants are well known, however the protests created new urgency to do something about them.
In July, the Australian authorities unveiled new Shut the Hole targets including reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.
For organisations that feel the urgency act there may be one obvious solution – a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
In 2006, Reconciliation Australia introduced RAPs as a way for organisations to include strategic reconciliation initiatives as part of their enterprise plans. The aim of a RAP is to create significant opportunities for your organisation to actively support and recognise Indigenous Australians. Like many initiatives, reconciliation is a process that may evolve as you and your organisation start to take action.
RAPs are broken down into 4 maturity levels that reflect where organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They’re: Mirror, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For example, the Innovate stage is for organisations that already understand where they will improve on Indigenous points and have begun taking action to actively address them.
Step one for all organisations is to find out its maturity level. “Contact the RAP staff at Reconciliation Australia and discover out which degree you’ll start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP team will ship you a template that will outline what that you must do. There are some fundamental compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia equivalent to celebrating nationwide Reconciliation Day and rising knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s concerning the adjustments you may make.”
Because lots of organisations will start at the Reflect stage, this guide will outline the pillars it’s worthwhile to set up to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is the place it all begins.
It could assist to look into why RAPs are so essential as well as the current issues going through Indigenous people. Reports reminiscent of Close the Hole can provide context to your RAP and may help you with the subsequent step.
Secure assist
Part of a profitable RAP is establishing support for reconciliation initiatives throughout the complete organisation. In most cases this needs to start on the top.
“Most frequently I discover that if persons are presented with the details, they pretty quickly get on board with wanting to be part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals are three per cent of the population. They can’t do the heavy lifting when it comes to change and infrastructure change, societal change, or altering 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 worker understanding of Indigenous points, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a stream-on effect. It makes employees more engaged with their community they usually typically choose to donate to, or volunteer with, Indigenous organisations as a result.
A RAP additionally solidifies your organisation’s commitment to making a culturally safe work surroundings, 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 next step is to form a working group that will oversee all the RAP process. This group will must be made up of assorted representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is in command of planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to encompass members who have some actual energy to make adjustments in the organisation, and members who understand it from a coverage and culture perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really profitable, you’ll need involvement from members who work with clients or shoppers, so that individuals outside your organisation understand you are attempting to make a difference.
