Reconciliation Action Plans are about taking good intent and turning it into action.
The Black Lives Matter protests that 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 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 business plans. The purpose 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 four maturity ranges that mirror where organisations are of their reconciliation journey. They’re: Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Every has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For instance, the Innovate degree is for organisations that already understand the place they can improve on Indigenous points and have begun taking action to actively address them.
The first step for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. “Contact the RAP group at Reconciliation Australia and find out which stage you’ll start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP group will ship you a template that may outline what it’s good to do. There are some basic compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia corresponding to celebrating national Reconciliation Day and rising knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s about the modifications you can make.”
Because a number of organisations will start at the Replicate stage, this guide will define the pillars you have to set up to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is where it all begins.
It might assist to look into why RAPs are so necessary as well as the present issues facing Indigenous people. Reports akin to Shut the Gap can provide context to your RAP and may help you with the next step.
Secure assist
Part of a successful RAP is establishing help for reconciliation initiatives throughout your entire organisation. In most cases this must start on the top.
“Most often I discover that if individuals are presented with the information, they pretty quickly get on board with eager to be a part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are three per cent of the population. They can’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 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 circulation-on effect. It makes employees more engaged with their community and so they usually 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 environment, 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 subsequent step is to form a working group that will oversee the complete RAP process. This group will have to 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 encompass members who’ve some precise power to make adjustments within the organisation, and members who understand it from a coverage and culture perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really successful, you’ll want involvement from members who work with clients or clients, so that individuals outside your organisation understand you are attempting to make a difference.
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