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Insecurity and exploitation

NCE has focused on the role of insecure work and labour exploitation but also sits on the Nottingham Financial Resilience Partnership to support its work to increase resilience in the city. This theme epitomises our role as a knowledge broker between up to date research and key policy debates helping to link together our new and emerging research insights with policy and decision makers.

Mapping the Drivers and Risks of Homicide

Partners: Andy Newton, James Hunter, Rich Pickford and Rowena Hill

Overview: Understanding the factors that may lead to homicide is a pressing policy topic. Working with colleagues at NTU and the Violence Reduction Partnership we are exploring the drivers and risk of homicide.

Duration: 1 year

Status: Active

Responsible Car Wash Scheme Evaluation

Partners: Rich Pickford, Ian Clark, Jack Barrett and Nidhi Sharma

Overview: Alongside the Work, Informalisation and Place Research Centre (WIP), NCE has undertaken an evaluation of differing models to tackle non-compliance in the hand car wash sector. This project charts a four site study and the impact each intervention had. It connects with a wider body of policy-engaged work on labour exploitation and the informal economy.

Duration: Less than a year

Status: Complete

Read WIPs evaluation report

Vulnerabilities to Modern Slavery? Predicting the presence and location of informalised workplaces in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic/co-led of Work, Informalisation and Place Research Centre

Partners: Ian Clark, James Hunter, Jack Barrett and Nidhi Sharma

Overview: NCE supported the bidding, delivery and impact dissemination of this AHRC project exploring informal work and the Covid-19 pandemic. It connects with a wider body of policy-engaged work on labour exploitation and the informal economy.

Duration: Less than a year

Status: Complete

Full details of the research can be found in the report

RCWS Home Office Modern Slavery Prevention Fund

Partners: Rich Pickford, Ian Clark, James Hunter, Nidhi Sharma and Jack Barratt

Overview: NCE worked with colleagues in WIP and the Responsible Car Wash Scheme to develop and deliver a project that explored the most problematic hand car washes across three areas of the UK and how interventions and engagement affected them.

Duration: Less than a year

Status: Complete

Explore the results of WIP and RCWSs work for the Home Office

Local Area Homelessness Classification (LAHC) Internal Knowledge Exchange bid

Partners: James Hunter, Rich Pickford, Richard Machin, Ian Mahoney, Eva Zemandl, Kelsey Bremman, Catrin Harris and Nidhi Sharma

Overview: LAHC has developed a cluster analysis tool to help understand which local authorities should be working together due to shared homelessness and housing characteristics.

Duration: Less than a year

Status: Complete

Read about our work on local homeless clusters

National Crime Agency Operations Aidant project

Partners: Rich Pickford, Ian Clark, Nidhi Sharma, Jack Barratt, James Hunter

Overview: Colleagues in WIP supported the National Crime Agency and partners to identify hand car wash locations across the whole of the UK to inform the summer 2022 Operation Aidant intensification which explored the link between serious and organised criminality and hand car washes.

Duration: Less than a year

Status: Complete

Minerva

Partners: Rowena Hill, James Hunter, Andy Newton, Irene Zempi, Lucy Betts and Rich Pickford

Overview: NTU colleagues have worked with Safer Essex on two successful STAR bids to explore and develop community based solutions to tackle violence against women and girls.

Duration: 1 year

Status: Active

Exploring the potential of a hand car wash licensing scheme

Partners: Ian Clark, Nidhi Sharma, Rich Pickford and James Hunter

Overview: Colleagues at WIP are working with NCE to explore the potential for a licences to operate model for hand car washes at a local authority level across the UK. This project is funded by the Institute for Knowledge Exchange Practice (IKEP).

Duration: 1 year

Status: Active

Out of the Ordinary

Partners: Rich Pickford, Chris Lawton, Paula Black, Sarah Burton, James Hunter and Daniel Wheatley

Overview: Out of the Ordinary explored the cost of living challenges of communities in places like Nottingham in 2017, building on the policy interest on Just About Managing families (JAMs).

Duration: 2 years

Status: Complete

More about the Out of the Ordinary project

Good Work Nottingham

Partners: Rich Pickford, Chris Lawton, Paula Black, Maria Karanika-Murray, Daniel Wheatley, Jack Rendall, Tom Vickers, Daniel King, Ian Clark, Kirsten Fazey, John Hudson, Magdalena Gilek, Zara Whysall, Mark Harris

Overview: Following the publication of the Taylor Review, NCE worked with a range of internal and external partners to explore how a place like Nottingham could become known as a good work city.

Duration: 2 years

Status: Complete

More about the Good Work Nottingham project

The Value of Breaks for Ordinary Working Families: an exploratory study

Partners: Paula Black, Rachel Harding, Jason Pandya-Wood and Atif Shafique

Overview: Following on from our work on ordinary working families, NCE worked with the Family Holiday Association to explore the value of short breaks for families who had little chance of a holiday.

Duration: 1 year

Status: Complete

Read more about our work with the Family Holiday Association

Decent and Good Work in the Platform Economy: Private Hire and Taxi Work in Nottingham

Partners: Tom Vickers, David Dahill and Dominic Holland with Daniel King, Sharon Hutchings, Laura Garius and Jack Rendall

Overview: NCE supported the report design and policy engagement planning for this Work Futures project on private hire drivers in Nottingham which included the hosting of a policy roundtable and briefings.

Duration: Less than a year

Status: Complete

More about the Private Hire and Hackney Drivers Work project

Working conditions and worker agency in e-commerce warehouses

Partners: Tom Vickers, Dominic Holland

Overview: NCE supported the report design and policy engagement planning for this Work Futures project on warehouse workers which included the hosting of a policy roundtable with international speakers and briefings.

Duration: Less than a year

Status: Complete

More about the Working conditions and worker agency in e-commerce warehouses project