The right way to create a Reconciliation Action Plan

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 a lot of Australians to rethink the issues 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 government unveiled new Shut the Gap targets together with reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.

For organisations that feel the urgency act there is 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 business plans. The purpose of a RAP is to create significant opportunities to your organisation to actively assist 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: Mirror, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Every has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For instance, the Innovate degree is for organisations that already understand where they can improve on Indigenous issues and have begun taking action to actively address them.

Step one for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. "Contact the RAP crew at Reconciliation Australia and discover out which stage you will start at," says Anthony. "The RAP workforce will ship you a template that can outline what it's essential to do. There are some primary obligatory actions required by Reconciliation Australia resembling celebrating national Reconciliation Day and rising knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s about the adjustments you possibly can make."

Because loads of organisations will start at the Replicate stage, this guide will outline the pillars it is advisable to set up to start your reconciliation journey.

Research

This is where it all begins.

It may assist to look into why RAPs are so important as well as the present points going through Indigenous people. Reports equivalent to Shut the Gap can provide context to your RAP and would possibly allow you to with the following step.

Safe support

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 frequently I find that if people are presented with the info, they beautiful quickly get on board with eager to be part of the reconciliation movement,"

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons are three per cent of the population. They can’t do the heavy lifting by way of change and infrastructure change, societal change, or altering 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 employee understanding of Indigenous issues, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a flow-on effect. It makes staff more engaged with their community and so they typically choose to donate to, or volunteer with, Indigenous organisations as a result.

A RAP additionally solidifies your organisation’s commitment to creating 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.

Set up a working group

The next step is to type a working group that may oversee your entire RAP process. This group will should be made up of varied representatives from all sectors of your organisation.

The group is in command of planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to include members who have some actual power 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 need involvement from members who work with customers or shoppers, so that people outside your organisation understand you are trying to make a difference.