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 variety 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 Close the Hole targets including reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.

For organisations that really feel the urgency act there may be one obvious solution – a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

In 2006, Reconciliation Australia introduced RAPs as a way for organisations to include strategic reconciliation initiatives as part of their enterprise plans. The goal of a RAP is to create meaningful 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 start to take action.

RAPs are broken down into four maturity levels that reflect the place organisations are of their reconciliation journey. They are: Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For example, the Innovate stage is for organisations that already understand where they will 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 staff at Reconciliation Australia and discover out which degree you will start at," says Anthony. "The RAP team will ship you a template that may define what you must do. There are some fundamental obligatory actions required by Reconciliation Australia akin to celebrating national Reconciliation Day and increasing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s concerning the modifications you possibly can make."

Because a variety of organisations will start at the Replicate stage, this guide will define the pillars it's essential set up to start your reconciliation journey.

Research

This is the place it all begins.

It could help to look into why RAPs are so important as well as the present issues facing Indigenous people. Reports corresponding to Close the Hole can provide context to your RAP and would possibly enable you to with the next step.

Safe assist

Part of a successful RAP is establishing help for reconciliation initiatives across the whole organisation. In most cases this needs to start on the top.

"Most frequently I find that if people are presented with the details, they stunning quickly get on board with desirous to be a part of the reconciliation movement,"

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals are three per cent of the population. They will’t do the heavy lifting when it comes to change and infrastructure change, societal change, or changing 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 flow-on effect. It makes workers more engaged with their community they usually often choose to donate to, or volunteer with, Indigenous organisations as a result.

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

Set up a working group

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

The group is answerable for planning and implementing the RAP, so it will need to include members who've some precise energy to make modifications within the organisation, and members who understand it from a coverage and culture perspective.

Lastly, for the RAP to be really profitable, you’ll need involvement from members who work with clients or clients, so that individuals outside your organisation understand you are attempting to make a difference.