Turning Policy Into Practice: Silomo’s Mission To Strengthen Disability Rights Implementation

Researching how disability rights policies can work in practice

Silomo is a PhD researcher in law whose work focuses on strengthening government governance structures for the implementation of disability rights. A blind researcher from South Africa, his work is shaped by both lived experience and a career spanning advocacy, research, and government.

His research is driven by a practical question: once disability rights policies exist, are governments actually equipped to implement them in ways that improve people’s lives? He is interested not only in the policy itself, but in whether the institutions responsible for delivering it are working as they should.

For Silomo, this work reaches far beyond academia. He wants his research to help turn policy commitments into better access, stronger inclusion, and more accountable and responsive public institutions.

Why good disability policy does not always lead to real change

Silomo’s research direction was shaped in part by his experience working inside government in South Africa. When he joined the Department for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, it felt like a role that aligned closely with both his skills and his sense of purpose.

But the reality was confronting.

“I was a bit disappointed because it didn’t turn out to be what I thought it was going to be,” he reflects. “I didn’t understand bureaucracy. I just thought it was easy to drive implementation from within.”

Instead, he encountered red tape and institutional barriers that can slow or block change, even where policy intent already exists. That experience sharpened his focus on the gap between what governments say they will do and what actually happens in practice.

When disability rights policies are not properly put into action, the consequences are real. People with disabilities can be left out of decisions that affect them, and legal protections may not translate into meaningful improvements in access, participation, or opportunity.

Silomo sees one of the key barriers as the weak involvement of the people most affected by policy. Too often, engagement with disability communities becomes “tokenism” or a “ticking exercise” rather than meaningful collaboration. Governments may say they have consulted, but in practice there are often no strong legal or institutional mechanisms compelling officials to work hand in hand with organisations of persons with disabilities throughout implementation.

“The structures are there,” he explains, “but there’s a gap in ensuring that people who are responsible for implementing policy are working hand in hand with the people affected by those policies.”

From academic research to early stakeholder engagement

When Silomo joined Cruxes Innovation’s Base Program, one of his key motivations was to better understand and communicate his own project.

“My main motivation was to learn more about my research itself,” he says. “How can the program assist me in refining and communicating it better?”

Like many researchers, his understanding of his PhD had largely been shaped through an academic and theoretical lens. The Base Program helped him think more concretely about impact: who his stakeholders are, why they matter, and how earlier engagement can improve the chances that his work will be taken up and used.

For Silomo, practical impact now means starting conversations early rather than waiting until the research is complete. Since the program, he has begun engaging more intentionally with organisations of persons with disabilities and relevant stakeholders in both South Africa and Australia, including the Achieve Foundation and Australian disability representative groups such as People with Disability Australia.

These conversations are helping him build relationships, test the relevance of his work, and better understand how his research could support adoption of critical disability legal instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

A long-term goal for more inclusive policy implementation

Looking ahead, Silomo hopes his research will contribute to a practical model, framework, or guide that helps governments involve persons with disabilities more effectively in decision-making and policy implementation.

While his work is grounded in South Africa, his ambitions extend further. Many countries have committed to disability rights in principle, but still face challenges in making implementation structures work well.

For other researchers who want to create impact with their work, his advice is straightforward:

“Identify your stakeholders and start communicating with them now.” He adds, “It doesn’t matter which discipline you’re in. Start engaging with your stakeholders now.”