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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 loads 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 authorities unveiled new Close 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 goal of a RAP is to create meaningful opportunities for your organisation to actively assist 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 four maturity ranges that reflect the place organisations are of 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 motion to actively address them.

The first step for all organisations is to find out its maturity level. “Contact the RAP staff at Reconciliation Australia and find out which level you’ll start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP team will ship you a template that may define what it’s good to do. There are some basic compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia equivalent to celebrating nationwide Reconciliation Day and increasing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s concerning the changes you can make.”

Because lots of organisations will start on the Reflect stage, this guide will outline the pillars it’s good to establish to start your reconciliation journey.

Research

This is where it all begins.

It can assist to look into why RAPs are so necessary as well as the current issues facing Indigenous people. Reports comparable to Close the Gap can provide context to your RAP and may allow you to with the following step.

Secure help

A part of a successful RAP is establishing help for reconciliation initiatives throughout all the organisation. In most cases this must start at the top.

“Most often I find that if people are introduced with the information, they stunning 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 by way of change and infrastructure change, societal change, or changing 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 worker understanding of Indigenous points, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a circulation-on effect. It makes staff more engaged with their community and so they typically select 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 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 following step is to kind a working group that may oversee the complete RAP process. This group will should be made up of assorted representatives from all sectors of your organisation.

The group is in command of planning and implementing the RAP, so it will need to consist of members who have some actual power to make changes within the organisation, and members who understand it from a policy and culture perspective.

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

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