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 problems affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the inhabitants are well known, but 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 incorporate strategic reconciliation initiatives as part of their enterprise plans. The goal of a RAP is to create significant opportunities in your organisation to actively support 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 4 maturity levels that reflect the place organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They are: Reflect, 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 will improve on Indigenous points and have begun taking motion to actively address them.
Step one for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. “Contact the RAP team at Reconciliation Australia and find out which degree you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP staff will ship you a template that will define what it’s essential do. There are some fundamental obligatory actions required by Reconciliation Australia equivalent to celebrating nationwide Reconciliation Day and increasing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s concerning the changes you may make.”
Because a number of organisations will start on the Reflect stage, this guide will define the pillars it’s essential establish to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is the place it all begins.
It can assist to look into why RAPs are so necessary as well as the current points going through Indigenous people. Reports resembling Shut the Hole can provide context to your RAP and would possibly provide help to with the following step.
Secure assist
Part of a successful RAP is establishing support for reconciliation initiatives across the whole organisation. In most cases this must start on the top.
“Most frequently I discover that if persons are presented with the facts, they stunning quickly get on board with eager to be part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons are three per cent of the population. They can’t do the heavy lifting by way of 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 employee understanding of Indigenous issues, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a circulation-on effect. It makes workers more engaged with their community and they often 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 atmosphere, 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 may oversee your complete RAP process. This group will should be made up of assorted representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is in control of planning and implementing the RAP, so it will need to include members who’ve some actual 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 prospects or purchasers, so that individuals outside your organisation understand you are attempting to make a difference.
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