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 lots of Australians to rethink the problems affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the remainder of the inhabitants 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 together with 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 a part of their enterprise plans. The aim of a RAP is to create significant opportunities in your organisation to actively help 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 4 maturity levels that reflect the place organisations are of their reconciliation journey. They’re: Replicate, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For example, the Innovate level is for organisations that already understand the place they can improve on Indigenous issues and have begun taking action to actively address them.
Step one for all organisations is to find out its maturity level. “Contact the RAP group at Reconciliation Australia and find out which level you’ll start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP workforce will send you a template that may outline what it’s worthwhile to do. There are some fundamental compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia reminiscent of celebrating national Reconciliation Day and increasing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s concerning the adjustments you possibly can make.”
Because numerous organisations will start at the Mirror stage, this guide will outline the pillars you should establish to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is where it all begins.
It could help to look into why RAPs are so essential as well as the current issues dealing with Indigenous people. Reports corresponding to Shut the Gap can provide context to your RAP and might enable you to with the next step.
Safe assist
Part of a successful RAP is establishing assist for reconciliation initiatives throughout the entire organisation. In most cases this must start on the top.
“Most frequently I find that if people are introduced with the info, they pretty quickly get on board with wanting to be part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals are three per cent of the population. They’ll’t do the heavy lifting in terms 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 movement-on effect. It makes employees more engaged with their community and so they usually select 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 setting, 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 subsequent step is to form a working group that will oversee the entire RAP process. This group will need to be made up of varied representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is in charge of planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to consist of members who have some precise energy to make adjustments 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 purchasers, so that people outside your organisation understand you are attempting to make a difference.
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