Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan
People Measures acknowledges, respects and seeks to learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures and connections to waterways and Country. We pay particular respect to Elders and are conscious that First Nations’ sovereignty has never been ceded. We commit with energy to a future where all people have equity of opportunity and socially just outcomes.
Our vision for reconciliation
We envision empowering leaders at all levels to embrace reconciliation through meaningful dialogue, education, and action, embedding respect and understanding into leadership development to drive lasting societal impact.
Our vision for reconciliation is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians to be united, and together to foster a national culture that embraces and promotes equity of opportunity, eliminates negative race relations, and accepts our shared history. We aspire to a future where all Australians, regardless of their cultural or national backgrounds, stand alongside one another to learn and grow from each other’s experiences and knowledge. Enabling us to truly acknowledge that First Nations peoples are the rightful Traditional Custodians of this beautiful and rich land, who have cared for and nurtured it for millennia.
Through our specialised leadership development work, we aspire to educate and empower individuals at all organisational levels, particularly senior leaders, to confront realities and collectively solve complex challenges. Our unwavering commitment to doing work that makes a difference in society inspires us to ensure that reconciliation is woven into the fabric of effective leadership. We seek to create spaces and opportunities in our leadership development programs where meaningful dialogue occurs. For example, the use of live case studies using reconciliation as a central theme, fostering understanding and respect that translates into actionable progress towards reconciliation.
By integrating these values and principles into our work, we strive to embed systemic change, enabling organisations to become catalysts for reconciliation within their spheres of influence. Together, we can build a future where the strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are acknowledged, celebrated, and integral to the leadership landscape of Australia.
From Reflect RAP to Innovate RAP
Before our Innovate RAP, we developed our Reflect RAP in 2020 and believe we have made steady progress on our reconciliation journey, which we outline below. Through our Reflect RAP we began to understand what reconciliation asks of us. The journey since then, and the work of shaping our Innovate RAP, has shifted us from seeing reconciliation as an aspiration to recognising it as a responsibility. It has changed the conversations we have with clients, influenced how we design leadership development, and reminded us that reconciliation must be visible in our actions as well as our intentions. Our Reflect RAP also gave us the foundation to move from awareness to action. Since then, we have taken deliberate steps to enhance our cultural capability and bring a reconciliation lens into our leadership programs. Developing our Innovate RAP has challenged us to embed these commitments into our systems and culture, so they are not side projects but part of how we work every day.
Working with Burbangana Group
Since the implementation of our Reflect RAP, we formalised a mutually beneficial partnership with Burbangana Group, which is a 100% First Nations owned business consultancy. Burbangana Group provides a broad range of services to help people, organisations and communities to achieve their vision. We have a formal Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the ways that we work together, and we also communicate with each other on an informal basis.
People Measures has financially supported two Burbangana consultants to achieve IECL coaching accreditation and we frequently include Burbangana Group in proposals regarding leadership development projects for government and other organisations. We partnered with Burbangana to facilitate and coach participants on the Victorian Public Sector Commission’s Barring Djinang career development program and have engaged Burbangana on several occasions to contribute as speakers or panellists on leadership development programs. Burbangana frequently advises us on questions relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Our relationship extends outside of the workplace to conversations and meet ups, which we find enriching.
Commissioned Artwork
As part of our Reconciliation journey, People Measures commissioned artist Dixon Patten to visualise our story.
About the Artwork
Connection, community and culture are at the centre of Aboriginal values.
This artwork is inspired by the energy and spirit of the ancestors that have passed down knowledge for millennia.
Everything is connected; from the skyward leaves to the soil in the earth and this symbolic connection is represented in the trees. The four Red Gums here represent standing tall, reaching out outwards and upwards; while remaining grounded and having deep roots.
This foundation is what guides everything we do in caring for people and Country.
Water is a sacred life-giver and is what sustains and maintains. The meandering flow represents our own journey through life.
About the artist
Dixon Patten, Aboriginal name: Bitja, is a proud Yorta Yorta and Gunnai man who was born and raised in Melbourne.
Dixon is the Creative Director and Lead Artist/ Graphic Designer of Bayila Creative. He has over 13 years’ experience in the arts and design space as an artist, curator and graphic designer, who draws his influence from his connection to his culture and family. He is passionate about storytelling in all its forms and loves the information, wisdom, knowledge and energy exchange that unites us and bridges the gap between people(s).
Bayila Creative is an Aboriginal-owned art and graphic design business business and was founded in Melbourne (Narrm) and was established with the intention of providing a platform to bring forth Indigenous culture, art and stories to the corporate world, and to interpret the Aboriginal community’s creative needs in an organic way. Bayila is the Yorta word for Red Gum. Just like the ‘Red Gum’, Bayila has its feet firmly planted in the ground. Bayila’s values mirror the Aboriginal cultural principles of respect, listening, sharing and connection.
People Measures acknowledges, respects and seeks to learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples, histories, cultures and connections to waterways and country. We pay particular respect to Elders and are conscious that First Nations’ sovereignty has never been ceded. We commit with energy to a future where all people have equity of opportunity and socially just outcomes. Learn More
