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 authorities unveiled new Close the Gap targets together with reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.

For organisations that feel the urgency act there’s 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 part of their business plans. The purpose of a RAP is to create significant opportunities on your organisation to actively assist 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 mirror where organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They are: Reflect, zarnesti01 Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Every has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For instance, the Innovate stage is for organisations that already understand where they will improve on Indigenous issues and have begun taking action to actively address them.

The first step for all organisations is to find out its maturity level. “Contact the RAP crew at Reconciliation Australia and find out which level you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP group will ship you a template that may outline what it’s worthwhile to do. There are some basic compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia akin to celebrating national Reconciliation Day and growing 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 on the Replicate stage, this guide will outline the pillars it’s essential to set up to start your reconciliation journey.

Research

This is where it all begins.

It could actually help to look into why RAPs are so necessary as well as the current points going through Indigenous people. Reports reminiscent of Shut the Gap can provide context to your RAP and might assist you with the next step.

Secure support

A part of a profitable RAP is establishing support for reconciliation initiatives across your complete organisation. In most cases this needs to start on the top.

“Most frequently I find that if persons are offered with the information, they pretty 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 meaningful 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 employees more engaged with their community and so they 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.

Establish a working group

The next step is to type a working group that will 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 encompass members who have some actual power to make changes in the organisation, and members who understand it from a coverage and culture perspective.

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