Reconciliation Action Plans are about taking good intent and turning it into action.
The Black Lives Matter protests which have erupted throughout the globe have caused a lot of Australians to rethink the problems affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the population are well known, however the protests created new urgency to do something about them.
In July, the Australian authorities unveiled new Close the Hole targets including reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.
For organisations that feel the urgency act there’s 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 a part of their business plans. The goal of a RAP is to create significant opportunities to your organisation to actively assist and recognise Indigenous Australians. Like many initiatives, reconciliation is a process that can evolve as you and your organisation start to take action.
RAPs are broken down into four maturity levels that reflect where organisations are of 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 the place they’ll improve on Indigenous points and have begun taking motion to actively address them.
The first step for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. “Contact the RAP group at Reconciliation Australia and find out which degree you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP crew will ship you a template that will define what you need to do. There are some fundamental compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia resembling celebrating nationwide Reconciliation Day and rising knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s about the adjustments you possibly can make.”
Because lots of organisations will start at the Mirror stage, this guide will outline the pillars you could set up to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is where it all begins.
It could help to look into why RAPs are so important as well as the present points going through Indigenous people. Reports comparable to Shut the Gap can provide context to your RAP and may enable you to with the next step.
Secure assist
A part of a profitable RAP is establishing assist for reconciliation initiatives across all the organisation. In most cases this needs to start on the top.
“Most often I discover that if individuals are offered with the facts, they beautiful quickly get on board with eager to be part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 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 changing attitudes.
“RAPs are a way of stepping in and making significant 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 and so they 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 subsequent step is to form a working group that may oversee the complete RAP process. This group will need to be made up of varied representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is in charge of planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to consist of members who have some precise power to make changes 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 customers or purchasers, so that individuals outside your organisation understand you are trying to make a difference.
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