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 quite 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 government unveiled new Close the Gap targets together with reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.
For organisations that feel the urgency act there’s 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 enterprise plans. The goal of a RAP is to create meaningful opportunities in your organisation to actively support and recognise Indigenous Australians. Like many initiatives, reconciliation is a process that can evolve as you and your organisation begin to take action.
RAPs are broken down into four maturity ranges that replicate the place organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They are: Mirror, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For instance, the Innovate stage is for organisations that already understand where they’ll improve on Indigenous issues and have begun taking action to actively address them.
The first step for all organisations is to find out its maturity level. “Contact the RAP workforce at Reconciliation Australia and discover out which stage you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP staff will ship you a template that can define what it’s essential do. There are some basic 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 concerning the modifications you can make.”
Because a variety of organisations will start on the Mirror stage, this guide will define the pillars you might want to establish to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is the place it all begins.
It will possibly assist to look into why RAPs are so essential as well as the present points facing Indigenous people. Reports comparable to Shut the Hole can provide context to your RAP and might make it easier to with the next step.
Safe help
Part of a profitable RAP is establishing assist for reconciliation initiatives across the complete organisation. In most cases this must start on the top.
“Most frequently I find that if people are presented with the info, they pretty quickly get on board with desirous to be a part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons 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 altering 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 issues, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a flow-on effect. It makes workers more engaged with their community and they usually 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.
Establish a working group
The following step is to type a working group that may oversee the whole RAP process. This group will should be made up of various representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is answerable for planning and implementing the RAP, so it will need to consist of members who’ve some precise energy to make changes within the organisation, and members who understand it from a policy 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 people outside your organisation understand you are attempting to make a difference.
If you want to read more information about indigenous employment strategy check out the web site.
