At Tika EQ, we often say that meaningful social equity work doesn’t start with action, it starts with readiness.

Before any organisation embarks on a reconciliation initiative, equity strategy, or community partnership, there’s a vital question that must be asked first: “Are we ready to do this well?”

This readiness isn’t a feeling, it’s a combination of structural, cultural, and relational conditions. To understand it clearly, we use a simple but powerful diagnostic framework: the Three A’s - Appetite, Access, and Authority. Together, these three elements help organisations see not just whether they want to do the work, but whether they’re positioned to create impact that is genuine, sustained, and well-supported.

1. Appetite - The Will to Act

Appetite refers to an organisation’s motivation, willingness, and cultural readiness to engage in social equity work.

It asks:

• Do people want to do this?
• Is there curiosity, commitment, and openness?
• Is the 'why' clear across teams and leaders?

Appetite is essential because it sets the internal tone. Without it, equity work becomes compliance-driven or performative. With it, people engage with honesty, reflection, and responsibility.

Strengthening appetite means:

• Creating shared understanding of why the work matters.
• Building cultural capability across the organisation.
• Encouraging leaders to model vulnerability and learning.

Appetite is the emotional readiness; a pulse check on the organisation’s willingness to go deeper than statements and symbolism.

2. Access - The Internal Reach to Make Change Possible

Many think of access in terms of external relationships - Elders, communities, or stakeholders. But before any of that, access must first be understood internally.

Access asks:

• Do we have access to the right people inside the organisation?
• Do those teams and individuals have the Appetite to engage?
• Do we have access to people with Authority - those who can approve, resource, or remove barriers?
• Can we reach across departments, divisions, and leadership layers?

This internal access matters because social equity work is cross-functional by nature. You cannot deliver change from the margins; you need reach. You need champions. You need pathways into the parts of the business where decisions actually happen. Without internal access, even strong Appetite and Authority remain fragmented.

For example:

• If HR has appetite but Finance is disengaged, resourcing stalls.
• If the project team is committed but executives are distant, momentum fades.
• If one branch is ready but others are not, the strategy becomes inconsistent.

Building internal access means:

• Mapping stakeholders and decision-makers early.
• Understanding who can influence what, and where bottlenecks sit.
• Creating cross-business working groups with genuine empowerment.
• Ensuring reconciliation or equity work is not siloed to one passionate individual or team.

Internal access is the ecosystem the organisational pathways that allow equity work to flow.

3. Authority - The Power to Change Systems

Where Appetite is emotional and Access is relational, Authority is structural.

Authority asks:

• Who has the mandate to approve, endorse, and resource?
• Is equity embedded in leadership responsibilities?
• Does the organisation have governance structures that give reconciliation and equity teeth?

Authority is what shifts social equity work from good intentions to organisational change.

Without authority:

• Projects get stuck in advisory mode.
• Ambitions remain ideas rather than actions.
• Staff doing the work carry identity load without systemic support.

Authority ensures accountability, continuity, and longevity, especially across leadership changes, restructures, or shifting priorities.

How the Three A’s Interact

Appetite, Access, and Authority are not linear, they’re interdependent:

• Appetite without Access
  You want to act, but you can’t reach the right internal people to make it real.
• Access without Authority
  You can reach people, but no one has the power to approve or sustain it.
• Authority without Appetite
  Leaders can mandate it, but engagement will be shallow or resistant.

Strong social equity work requires all three. Together, they form a complete picture of readiness.

Why This Matters

The Three A’s stop organisations from jumping into work they’re not ready to sustain.
They allow for honest conversations about:

• Where the appetite truly sits.
• Who can unlock access.
• Where authority needs to be strengthened.

Starting with this clarity prevents burnout, avoids tokenism, and builds the conditions for meaningful, long-term impact. It ensures the organisation begins from a position of integrity, not just interest.

Our Perspective

At Tika EQ, we use the Three A’s Framework to help organisations understand their readiness for reconciliation, inclusion, and social equity work. This clarity allows us to co-design strategies that are not only aspirational, but achievable, supported, and sustained. Because successful social equity work isn’t just about starting. It’s about starting from the right place.