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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 plenty 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 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 incorporate strategic reconciliation initiatives as a part of their enterprise plans. The aim of a RAP is to create significant opportunities in your organisation to actively support and recognise Indigenous Australians. Like many initiatives, reconciliation is a process that may evolve as you and your organisation begin to take action.

RAPs are broken down into four maturity ranges that mirror the place organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They are: Mirror, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For instance, the Innovate stage is for organisations that already understand the place they will improve on Indigenous points 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 workforce at Reconciliation Australia and find out which level you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP workforce will ship you a template that will define what it’s essential do. There are some primary obligatory actions required by Reconciliation Australia reminiscent of celebrating national Reconciliation Day and increasing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s in regards to the adjustments you can make.”

Because lots of organisations will start at the Replicate stage, this guide will define the pillars it’s worthwhile to set up to start your reconciliation journey.

Research

This is where it all begins.

It will possibly help to look into why RAPs are so necessary as well as the present issues facing Indigenous people. Reports such as Shut the Hole can provide context to your RAP and would possibly make it easier to with the next step.

Safe assist

Part of a successful RAP is establishing assist for reconciliation initiatives across all the organisation. In most cases this needs to start at the top.

“Most frequently I find that if individuals are offered with the details, they beautiful quickly get on board with desirous 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 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 issues, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a circulate-on effect. It makes staff more engaged with their community and 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 surroundings, 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 your entire RAP process. This group will must be made up of assorted representatives from all sectors of your organisation.

The group is accountable for planning and implementing the RAP, so it will need to consist of members who’ve some precise energy to make modifications in the organisation, and members who understand it from a policy and tradition perspective.

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

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