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Nuala Morse is a museum studies scholar and social geographer.  Her main research examines the 'care work' of cultural professionals, care ethics in museums, and the wider social role of cultural organisations in supporting health and wellbeing. 

Another strand of my research is focused on museum careers, workforce development and organisational change. Recent work was published in a report for the Museums Association:

Nuala's research is collaborative working closely with culture sector professionals.

Recent funded projects include: 'Change-makers in the creative economy: the role of front-line museum professionals in organisational change' funded by the ESRC Creative Economy Engagement Fellowship and CSSAH Research Development Fund. In collaboration with the Museums Association this project explored the reach and impact of the MA’s workforce initiative for innovation and diversity 'Transformers: Radical Change in Museums' with Dr Mercy McCann. The recently published report ' is part of sector-facing conversations around future workforce development and organisational change strategies for the sector.

Nuala previously held a postdoctoral position at the University of Manchester and UCL on a project investigating the health and wellbeing benefits of taking part in museum activities for stroke rehabilitation patients people living with dementia and adults mental health service users in partnership with Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and Manchester Museums Partnerships.

Morse N. (2020) The Museum as a Space of Social Care. Routledge Morse N (2020) Care-ful Cultural Work and Health Inequalities. What Roles for Museums? A UK Perspective. Special issue Museums in the Pandemic: A Survey of Responses on the Current Crisis Museum Worlds 8(1) pp.111-134. DOI:10.3167/armw.2020.080109

Thomson, L.J, Morse, N., Elsden, E., and Chatterjee, H.J. (2020) Art nature and mental health: assessing the biopsychosocial effects of a ‘creative green prescription’ museum programme involving horticulture artmaking and collections. Perspectives in Public Health https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913920910443

Morse, N., Thomson, L.J., and Chatterjee, H.J. (2020). The Role of Co-production Methods in Developing an Observational Tool for Museums in Health Research for People Living With Dementia. Sage Methods paper .https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529710632

Morse, N. and McCann, M. 2019. Becoming a Change-Maker in Museums: experiences opportunities and challenges-Reflections on the Museums Association’s Transformers workforce development initiative. Leicester: School of Museum Studies University of Leicester https://dx.doi.org/10.29311/2019.03

Morse N. (2018). Patterns of accountability: an organizational approach to community engagement in museums. museum and society 16 (2) p. 171-186 Morse N. Rex B. and Richardson S. H. (eds) (2018). Special Issue: Methodologies for Researching the Museum as Organization museum and society 16 (2) p. 112-123

Morse, N. and Munro, E. (2015) ‘Museums’ community engagement schemes austerity and practices of care in two local museum services’. Social and Cultural Geography Online First. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2015.1089583 and part of the Special Issue: Placing Care in Times of Austerity

Morse, N., Thomson, L., and Brown, Z. and Chatterjee H.J. (2015) ‘Effects of museum outreach sessions on measures of confidence sociability and wellbeing for mental health and addiction recovery service users’ Arts and Health: An Â鶹APP Journal for Research Policy and Practice 7 (3) p. 231-246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2015.1061570

Morse, N., Macpherson, M., and Robinson, S. (2013) ‘Developing dialogue in youth-led exhibitions: between rhetoric intentions and realities.’ Museum Management and Curatorship 28 (1) p. 91-106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2012.754632

Nuala is interested in supervising students in the following areas:

• The emotional and therapeutic role of museum spaces and objects in well-being health and recovery
• Care ethics and care practice in the museum
• Theories of change in museums in particular professionals' experiences as 'change-makers'
• Participatory action research or organisational studies methodologies in museum studies
• Workforce development and careers in the museum sector

Nuala teaches on the following modules for the campus-based MA/MSc Museum Studies

MU7012 ‘Contemporary Museum Contexts’

MU7017 'Engaging Audiences (Module Lead)

MU7020 'Specialisms' (Module Lead for 'Education' specialism).

She also contributes teaching to the following Distance Learning modules:  MU7750 'The Museum and Change', MU7553 'Engaging Audiences', MU7554 'Lifelong Learning',  MU7562 'Ethical Practice: Access Liberation and Organisational Change'

Nuala Morse is a management board member for the Institute for Precision Health 

She is a Managing Editor for museum and society journal and a member of the Editorial Board for Museums & Social Issues. 

She is a member of Association of Critical Heritage Studies and has previously held committee positions on the Royal Geographical Society Geographies of Health and Wellbeing Research Group.