Queensland Innovation Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said New Farm’s LOGiT Australia Pty Ltd (LOGiT Australia) received Advance Queensland Deadly Innovation funding last year to develop a pragmatic solution to help companies to manage, track and report on their Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs).
“RAPs are integral to levelling the playing field for Indigenous people in Australia, creating and supporting Indigenous employment and providing opportunities for Indigenous-owned businesses,” Minister Hinchliffe said.
“It’s apt that we are launching LOGiT Australia’s weavr management system during Indigenous Business Month. Reconciliation requires real action. The best intentions and a plan are not enough.”
According to Reconciliation Australia, over 1000 organisations Australia-wide have RAPs as part of their commitment to closing the gap for Indigenous Australians. This includes government agencies, NGOs and small and large private sector companies, and is leading to over $2 billion worth of goods and services being procured from Indigenous businesses.
“But collecting and reporting on RAPs can be onerous for large organisations with multiple business units, with the result that there is the real risk that Indigenous people miss out on jobs and supply chain opportunities.
“So last year, CSIRO and Australia’s largest national apprenticeship network provider MEGT, along with officers from the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport and other key stakeholders, held a workshop in Brisbane, under the Advance Queensland Open Innovation initiative, to ascertain the roadblocks and what might be a viable solution.
“The workshop identified paper-based documents and systems as a barrier to RAP effectiveness. It also mapped the tracking, measuring and reporting capability required for a digital solution.
“LOGiT Australia was seen as having the right credentials to develop this solution, with the company’s strong track record in providing opportunities for Indigenous peoples, including creating career paths, providing technical skills, mentoring and other support initiatives.”
Managing director of LOGiT Australia and proud Biripi man Kieran Shirey said LOGiT designed weavr to be extremely user-friendly, assisting agencies manage, schedule, prioritise and track their activities against their RAPs.
“We designed weavr to increase data accuracy, identify weaknesses and boost the visibility of their achievements. This is important – it’s one thing for companies and agencies to have grand plans, it’s another to demonstrate their plans are having an impact for Indigenous Australians,” Mr Shirey said.
“In creating weavr we imagined what could be achieved if RAPs were used to their full potential, if barriers were removed, and the process was more streamlined.
“One of the biggest inhibitors for RAP managers is the administration work to compile data and manually producing reports, which reduced the time available to interact with stakeholders and work together towards reconciliation.”
Mr Shirey said weavr cost would be user-based, enabling every organisation from small to large to access it.
CSIRO Indigenous Engagement Executive Manager and proud Torres Strait Islander Louisa Warren said CSIRO welcomed the innovative solution to support its continued delivery of the nearly 20 actions in its Reconciliation Action Plan.
“As the national science agency, we recognise that being truly innovative takes a diversity of voices and experiences, which is why we are committed to tracking and continuously improving our reconciliation efforts.
“Reconciliation is a journey for everyone in the organisation, which means we need to think innovatively about supporting non-Indigenous colleagues to build their capability and contribute effectively to our overall efforts.
“Weavr enables us to identify opportunities and challenges early rather than at the end when we are reporting to Reconciliation Australia.”
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lead for MEGT Matt Fairhurst said reconciliation was fundamental for all of us in Australia.
“MEGT has more than 500 staff providing services to a range of Australians, from employers to school leavers, apprentices and trainees, and we’re committed to ensuring everyone comes along on the reconciliation journey,” Mr Fairhurst said.
“An important way to show progress is to have clear actions, accountabilities and responsibilities that enable that journey.
“The weavr platform will make this process far easier. It gives individuals and businesses the ability to track their progress throughout the reconciliation journey.
“We’re proud to get involved and contribute to the development of a great platform, and congratulations to the partners for all their work.”
This media release was originally published here: https://stirlinghinchliffe.com/latest-news/media-releases/