Seqwater
the challenge
YarnnUp was successfully awarded the Seqwater tender to assist with the development of their inaugural Reflect RAP. At Seqwater there had been an internal appetite for the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) for several years. There were several unsuccessful attempts over a 3-year period to achieve endorsement of a Reflect RAP, so the organisation decided it was time to engage some external support to achieve endorsement and accreditation to formally begin the reconciliation process within the business.
As part of its inaugural Reflect RAP journey, Seqwater was looking to upskill its RAP Working Group and build their First Nations cultural awareness and capability.
the solution
Without any formal structure to facilitate the development of a RAP, YarnnUp worked with Seqwater to set up foundational pillars around the inception of a RAP Working Group that would work closely with YarnnUp. YarnnUp proceeded to conduct an internal cultural audit to understand the thoughts and sentiments from key stakeholders within the business. YarnnUp then collated and disseminated the information to begin discussions, setting expectations around what would be achievable within the Reflect stage to ensure the business.
YarnnUp also created a blended program focusing on Aboriginal cultural awareness and capability building utilising our unique approach blending Aboriginal philosophy and wisdom with western academia. We also incorporated Reconciliation Action Plan governance and implementation best practice, providing a terms of reference document which would guide the direction of the RAP Working Group for the next 12-months.
the outcome
We successfully achieved formal endorsement and accreditation of the Seqwater Reflect RAP within 12 weeks. This included a professionally designed and branded booklet incorporating the artwork that was developed as part of the consultative process as well as all the Reconciliation Australia branding to ensure it was compliant with the standard requirements.
YarnnUp also successfully transitioned the RAP Working Group into a RAP Governance Group, setting the terms of reference in place to ensure agreement around all the procedural requirements for the next 12-months. YarnnUp facilitated two workshops for the RAP governance group to initiate the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) process. YarnnUp has now transitioned into the education piece whereby full day Aboriginal cultural awareness and capability sessions are now being delivered across various locations throughout Queensland and to different divisions across the business.
The workshop session was very well received with some very insightful engagement from the RAP Working Group. On the back of this session, YarnnUp will be delivering another 3 sessions across various regions within the business as a starting point with additional future trainings to be confirmed.
