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 Gap targets including reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.
For organisations that feel the urgency act there may be one apparent 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 aim of a RAP is to create meaningful opportunities on your organisation to actively help 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 ranges that reflect the place organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They’re: Reflect, 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 points and have begun taking motion 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 find out which degree you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP workforce will send you a template that can define what it’s worthwhile to do. There are some basic 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 changes you may make.”
Because lots of organisations will start on the Reflect stage, this guide will outline the pillars you should set up to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is the place it all begins.
It could actually assist to look into why RAPs are so vital as well as the current points facing Indigenous people. Reports such as Close the Hole can provide context to your RAP and might provide help to with the subsequent step.
Secure support
A part of a profitable RAP is establishing assist for reconciliation initiatives across the entire organisation. In most cases this needs to start on the top.
“Most often I discover that if people are offered with the information, they beautiful quickly get on board with desirous to be part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are three per cent of the population. They will’t do the heavy lifting in terms of change and infrastructure change, societal change, or altering 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 employee understanding of Indigenous points, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a move-on effect. It makes staff more engaged with their community and so they often choose 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 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 next step is to type a working group that can oversee the whole RAP process. This group will must be made up of various representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is accountable for planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to consist of members who’ve some precise energy to make changes in the organisation, and members who understand it from a coverage and culture perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really successful, you’ll need involvement from members who work with clients or purchasers, so that folks outside your organisation understand you are trying to make a difference.