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 a lot of Australians to rethink the issues affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the population are well known, but 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 really feel the urgency act there may be one apparent solution – a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
In 2006, Reconciliation Australia launched RAPs as a way for organisations to incorporate strategic reconciliation initiatives as part of their business plans. The intention of a RAP is to create meaningful 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 begin to take action.
RAPs are broken down into four maturity ranges that reflect the place organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They are: Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Every has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For example, the Innovate degree is for organisations that already understand where they will improve on Indigenous issues and have begun taking motion to actively address them.
Step one for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. “Contact the RAP staff at Reconciliation Australia and find out which level you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP workforce will ship you a template that may outline what you’ll want to do. There are some basic obligatory actions required by Reconciliation Australia similar to celebrating national Reconciliation Day and increasing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s in regards to the changes you can make.”
Because a whole 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 where it all begins.
It may possibly help to look into why RAPs are so important as well as the present points facing Indigenous people. Reports comparable to Close the Hole can provide context to your RAP and might assist you to with the following step.
Safe support
A part of a profitable RAP is establishing support for reconciliation initiatives throughout your entire organisation. In most cases this needs to start at the top.
“Most frequently I find that if individuals are introduced with the information, they beautiful quickly get on board with desirous to be a part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals are three per cent of the population. They will’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 worker understanding of Indigenous issues, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a stream-on effect. It makes staff more engaged with their community they usually usually select to donate to, or volunteer with, Indigenous organisations as a result.
A RAP also solidifies your organisation’s commitment to creating a culturally safe work setting, which expands your recruiting pool by making your workplace a more attractive employer to Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander employees.
Establish a working group
The following step is to kind a working group that can oversee all the RAP process. This group will have to be made up of varied representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is in control of planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to consist of members who have some actual energy to make modifications within the organisation, and members who understand it from a coverage and tradition perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really profitable, you’ll need involvement from members who work with customers or clients, so that individuals outside your organisation understand you are attempting to make a difference.
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