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 quite a lot of Australians to rethink the problems affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the remainder of the population are well known, however the protests created new urgency to do something about them.
In July, the Australian government unveiled new Close the Gap targets together with reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.
For organisations that really 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 include strategic reconciliation initiatives as a part of their enterprise plans. The purpose of a RAP is to create meaningful opportunities on your organisation to actively support and recognise Indigenous Australians. Like many initiatives, reconciliation is a process that will evolve as you and your organisation start to take action.
RAPs are broken down into 4 maturity levels that replicate where organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They’re: Mirror, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For instance, the Innovate level is for organisations that already understand the place they will improve on Indigenous points and have begun taking action to actively address them.
The first step for all organisations is to find out its maturity level. “Contact the RAP group at Reconciliation Australia and find out which level you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP team will ship you a template that can define what that you must do. There are some basic obligatory actions required by Reconciliation Australia equivalent to celebrating national Reconciliation Day and increasing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s about the modifications you can make.”
Because a variety of organisations will start on the Mirror stage, this guide will outline the pillars you need to establish to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is the place it all begins.
It could actually assist to look into why RAPs are so important as well as the present points dealing with Indigenous people. Reports resembling Shut the Gap can provide context to your RAP and may allow you to with the next step.
Safe help
A part of a successful RAP is establishing help for reconciliation initiatives across your entire organisation. In most cases this must start on the top.
“Most often I discover that if people are presented with the facts, 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 can’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 worker understanding of Indigenous points, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a move-on effect. It makes workers more engaged with their community and 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 atmosphere, 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 your complete RAP process. This group will must be made up of varied 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 have some precise energy to make modifications within the organisation, and members who understand it from a policy and culture perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really profitable, you’ll want 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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