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 numerous Australians to rethink the issues affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the remainder 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 Gap targets together with 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 a part of their enterprise plans. The purpose 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 four maturity ranges that reflect where organisations are of their reconciliation journey. They are: Mirror, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Every 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 points and have begun taking motion to actively address them.
Step one for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. “Contact the RAP workforce at Reconciliation Australia and discover out which level you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP staff will send you a template that may outline what you’ll want to do. There are some primary compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia corresponding to celebrating national Reconciliation Day and growing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s in regards to the adjustments you possibly can make.”
Because numerous organisations will start at the Mirror stage, this guide will define the pillars you’ll want to establish to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is where it all begins.
It may assist to look into why RAPs are so essential as well as the current issues going through Indigenous people. Reports comparable to Shut the Hole can provide context to your RAP and would possibly help you with the next step.
Safe assist
A part of a successful RAP is establishing help for reconciliation initiatives across your complete organisation. In most cases this needs to start on the top.
“Most often I find that if individuals are presented with the info, they stunning quickly get on board with wanting 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 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 worker understanding of Indigenous issues, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a circulate-on effect. It makes employees more engaged with their community they usually often select to donate to, or volunteer with, Indigenous organisations as a result.
A RAP also 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 following step is to kind a working group that can oversee the complete RAP process. This group will must 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 might want to consist of members who have some actual power to make modifications within the organisation, and members who understand it from a coverage and tradition perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really successful, you’ll need involvement from members who work with customers or shoppers, so that folks outside your organisation understand you are attempting to make a difference.