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 numerous Australians to rethink the issues affecting Indigenous communities.

The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the inhabitants are well known, however the protests created new urgency to do something about them.

In July, the Australian authorities unveiled new Shut the Hole targets including reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.

For organisations that really feel the urgency act there is one obvious 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 aim of a RAP is to create significant opportunities on 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 mirror where organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They're: Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For example, the Innovate degree is for organisations that already understand where they will 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 workforce at Reconciliation Australia and discover out which degree you will start at," says Anthony. "The RAP workforce will ship you a template that will outline what you should do. There are some fundamental compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia similar to celebrating nationwide Reconciliation Day and growing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s concerning the modifications you'll be able to make."

Because a lot of organisations will start at the Mirror stage, this guide will outline the pillars it's essential to establish to start your reconciliation journey.

Research

This is the place it all begins.

It may help to look into why RAPs are so vital as well as the current issues facing Indigenous people. Reports comparable to Shut the Hole can provide context to your RAP and may assist you to with the subsequent step.

Secure assist

A part of a successful RAP is establishing assist for reconciliation initiatives across your entire organisation. In most cases this needs to start at the top.

"Most often I find that if people are offered with the info, they pretty quickly get on board with wanting to be part of the reconciliation movement,"

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are three per cent of the population. They'll’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 significant 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 staff 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 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 following step is to form a working group that may oversee the whole RAP process. This group will need to 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 actual power to make changes 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 shoppers, so that folks outside your organisation understand you are attempting to make a difference.

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