2020 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(1) in response to complex social problems with the aim of achieving transformation. 3 This approach may be targeted at specific population groups or communities, or concentrate on a particular issue in a given location. ‘Place’ may also be thought of not just as a material concept, but also as the product of social relations, networks and the integration of global and local influences. It is constructed through time, and contested through power relations, creating an arena for debate, conflict and co-production. 4 Much antislavery activity in the UK is now delivered by local place-based partnerships, which bring together statutory and non-statutory stakeholders across a defined area to offer a wide spectrum of prevention activity, awareness raising and survivor support. While the approach to modern slavery in the UK has been dominated by a criminal justice framing at the national level, partnerships at the local level enable a more nuanced response, which can incorporate attention to the wider ‘social determinants’ of modern slavery including societal drivers for exploitation, legislative and structural barriers to assistance, and community and corporate responsibilities in response to the problem. Place-based responses also offer a forum to engage a wider cross-section of voices — including those directly affected by exploitation — towards identifying solutions and assets that can help individuals and communities to flourish. We can illustrate this in more depth through considering a case study of the development of place-based antislavery action and research in Nottinghamshire, a county in the Midlands of the UK. I RESEARCH AND ACTION TOWARDS A ‘SLAVERY-FREE’ COMMUNITY The aspiration to create a slavery-free Nottinghamshire grew out of Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter’s book The Slave Next Door, 5 which describes potential tactics for local services and community leaders to address modern slavery. In early 2017, a multi-agency partnership including the police, representatives of local councils, labour inspectors, faith leaders, the local Chamber of Commerce and nongovernmental organisations (‘NGO’) began assembling an action plan for a unified local response to the issue. 6 The initial strategy incorporated a media campaign engaging political and civic leaders; public awareness-raising initiatives; funding to train statutory and voluntary-sector staff working in publicfacing services; joint enforcement operations; action to develop transparency statements for public bodies; and efforts to improve services for victims and survivors. The University of Nottingham’s ‘Rights Lab’ 7 became involved with this work in various pragmatic ways including offering practical support in hosting meetings, bringing relevant academic findings to meetings, contributing to training and undertaking discrete research projects. The University also worked with a survivor leader and incoming PhD student, Minh Dang, to incubate and 3 4 5 6 7 Grenni Sara, Katriina Soini, Lummina Horlings, ‘The Inner Dimension of Sustainability Transformation: How Sense of Place and Values Can Support Sustainable Place-Shaping’ (2019) 15(1) Sustainability Science 411. Lummina Horlings et al, ‘Exploring the Transformative Capacity of Place-Shaping Practices’ (2020) 15(2) Sustainability Science 353. Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter, The Slave Next Door (University of California Press 2009). The UK Government had passed the Modern Slavery Act in 2015, and the issue gained increased political salience when Theresa May became Prime Minister in July 2016, declaring modern slavery a key focus of her premiership. See Alison Gardner, ‘An Idea Whose Time Has Come’ (2018) 10(3) Journal of Human Rights Practice 461, 468. For further information, see ‘Rights Lab’ University of Nottingham (Web Page) <https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/beacons-of-excellence/rights-lab/index.aspx>. 149