Ricardo S. Morse is a professor of public administration and government at the School of Government. His research, teaching, and consulting focus on public leadership, collaborative governance, and civic engagement. Morse currently serves as Director of the Leading for Results Program, which develops local government leaders in North Carolina. He teaches in a variety of the School’s continuing education programs for local officials as well as a leadership course in the UNC MPA program. 

Morse joined the School in 2006.  He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters.

Morse holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public policy from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. in public administration from Virginia Tech.

Selected Publications

Morse, Ricardo S., Sabrina M. Willard, and Michelle Y. Holder. 2017. The Citizens Academy Handbook: Local Government Building Capacity for Civic Engagement. Chapel Hill, N.C.: UNC School of Government.

Morse, Ricardo S., and Charles R. Abernathy. 2015. Towards a Typology of Shared Services Arrangements. In Municipal Shared Services: A Public Solutions Handbook, ed. Alexander C. Henderson, 143-160. New York: Routledge.

Getha-Taylor, Heather, and Ricardo S. Morse. 2013. Collaborative Leadership Development for Local Government Officials: Exploring Competencies and Program Impact. Public Administration Quarterly 37 (1): 71-102.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2012. Citizens Academies: Local Governments Building Capacity for Citizen Engagement. Public Performance and Management Review 36(1): 79-101.

Heather Getha-Taylor, Maja Husar Holmes, Willow S. Jacobson, Ricardo S. Morse, and Jessica E. Sowa. 2010. Focusing the Public Leadership Lens: Research Propositions and Questions in the Minnowbrook Tradition. Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory 21(Supplement 1): i83-i98.

Ricardo S. Morse. 2010. Bill Gibson and the Art of Leading Across Boundaries. Public Administration Review 70(3): 434-442.

Ricardo S. Morse. 2010. Integrative Public Leadership: Catalyzing Collaboration to Create Public Value. The Leadership Quarterly 21(2): 231-245.

Morse, Ricardo S., and Terry F. Buss, eds. 2008.Innovations in Public Leadership Development. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. 372 pages.

Morse, Ricardo S., Terry F. Buss, and C. Morgan Kinghorn, eds. 2007. Transforming Public Leadership for the 21st Century. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. 375 pages.

Additional Publications

ARTICLES

Getha-Taylor, Heather, and Ricardo S. Morse. 2013. Collaborative Leadership Development for Local Government Officials: Exploring Competencies and Program Impact. Public Administration Quarterly 37 (1): 71-102.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2012. Citizens Academies: Local Governments Building Capacity for Citizen Engagement. Public Performance and Management Review 36(1): 79-101.

Morse, Ricardo S., and John B. Stephens. 2012. Teaching Collaborative Governance: Phases, Competencies, and Case-Based Learning. Journal of Public Affairs Education. 37 (1): 71-102.

Berner, Maureen M., Justin M. Amos, and Ricardo S. Morse. 2011. What Constitutes Effective Citizen Participation in Local Government? Views from City Stakeholders. Public Administration Quarterly 35(1): 128-162.

Bushouse, Brenda K., Willow S. Jacobson, Kristina T. Lambright, Jared J. Llorens, Ricardo S. Morse, and Ora-orn Poocharoen. 2010. Crossing the Divide: Building Bridges Between Public Administration Practitioners and Scholars. Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory 21(Supplement 1): i99-i112.

Getha-Taylor, Heather, Maja Husar Holmes, Willow S. Jacobson, Ricardo S. Morse, and Jessica E. Sowa. 2010. Focusing the Public Leadership Lens: Research Propositions and Questions in the Minnowbrook Tradition. Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory 21(Supplement 1): i83-i98.

Altman, Lydian, and Ricardo S. Morse. 2008. Creating Their Own Futures: Community Visioning and North Carolina Local Governments. Popular Government 73(2): 20-35.

Morton, Lois W., Yu-Che Chen, and Ricardo S. Morse. 2008. Small Town Civic Structure and Interlocal Collaboration for Public Services. City and Community 7(1): 45-60.

Dudley, Larkin S., Ricardo S. Morse, and James P. Armstrong. 2008. Comparing Content of Two NIF Forum Formats: Face-to-Face Group versus Online. International Journal of Public Participation 2(1): 84-86.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2007. Mary Follett, Prophet of Participation. International Journal of Public Participation 1(1): 1-17.

Morse, Ricardo S., Jeanne Warning, and Paul W. Brown. 2006. Catalytic Leadership: Reconsidering the Nature of Extension’s Leadership Role.  Journal of Extension 44(2): 1-10.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2006. Prophet of Participation: Mary Follett and Public Participation in Public Administration. Administrative Theory and Praxis 28(1): 1-32.

Morse, Ricardo S., Larkin S. Dudley, James Armstrong, and Dong Won Kim. 2005. Learning and Teaching about Deliberative Democracy: On Campus and in the Field. Journal of Public Affairs Education 11(4): 325-336.

BOOK CHAPTERS

Morse, Ricardo S. 2014 (forthcoming). “Interlocal Cooperation, Shared Services, and Regional Councils.” In County and Municipal Government in North Carolina, ed. Frayda S. Bluestein, 12 pgs. Chapel Hill, N.C.: UNC School of Government.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2012. Bill Gibson and the Art of Leading Across Boundaries. In Serving the Public Interest: Profiles of Successful and Innovative Public Servants, ed. Norma M. Riccucci, 160-172. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.

Morse, Ricardo S., and Terry F. Buss. 2008. Introduction. In Innovations in Public Leadership Development, eds. Ricardo S. Morse and Terry F. Buss, 3-18. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2008. Developing Public Leaders in an Age of Collaborative Governance. In Innovations in Public Leadership Development, eds. Ricardo S. Morse and Terry F. Buss, 79-100. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.

Dudley, Larkin S., and Ricardo S. Morse. 2008. Learning about Deliberative Democracy in Public Affairs Programs. In Deliberation and the Work of Higher Education: Innovations for the Classroom, the Campus, and the Community, eds. John Dedrick, Harris Dienstfrey, and Laura Grattan, 165-190. Dayton, Ohio: Kettering Foundation Press.

Morse, Ricardo S., and Terry F. Buss. 2007. The Transformation of Public Leadership. In Transforming Public Leadership for the 21st Century, eds. Ricardo S. Morse, Terry F. Buss, and C. Morgan Kinghorn, 3-19.  Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2006. Community Learning: The Process and Structure of Collaborative Engagement. In Modernizing Democracy: Innovations in Citizen Participation, eds. Terry F. Buss, F. Stevens Redburn, and Kristina Guo, 49-77. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2006. Community Learning in Practice: Insights from an Action Research Project in Southwest Virginia. In Modernizing Democracy: Innovations in Citizen Participation, eds. Terry F. Buss, F. Stevens Redburn, and Kristina Guo, 78-103. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.

BOOK REVIEWS

Morse, Ricardo S. 2011. Review essay titled “The Practice of Collaborative Governance,” reviewing Leading Across Boundaries: Creating Collaborative Agencies in a Networked, by Russell M. Linden and Working Across Boundaries: People, Nature, and Regions, by Matthew J. McKinney and Shawn Johnson. In Public Administration Review. 71(6): 953-957.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2011. Review of Investing in Democracy: Engaging Citizens in Collaborative Governance, by Carmen Sirianni. In American Review of Public Administration. 41(6): 724-726.

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL MONOGRAPHS AND REPORTS

Stenberg, Carl W., and Ricardo S. Morse. 2014. Leveraging Local Change: The States’ Role. A Policy Issue White Paper prepared on behalf of the ICMA Governmental Affairs and Policy Committee.

Stephens, John R., Ricardo S. Morse, and Kelley T. O’Brien. 2011. Public Outreach and Participation. Monograph part of the Local Government Board Builders Series, ed. Vaughn Mamlin Upshaw. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC School of Government. 47 pages.

Westbrook, Andrew, Jeff Hughes, Rick Morse, and Lydian Altman. 2010. Interlocal Water Partnerships in Surry County, North Carolina. A report to the Local Governments of Dobson, Elkin, Mount Airy, Pilot Mountain and Surry County from the School of Government. School of Government, 30 March, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 30 pages.

Morse, Ricardo S., and collaborators. 2007. Wilson 20/20 Community Vision: Report and Recommendations. School of Government, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 114 pages.

Morse, Ricardo S. 2005. The Olive Tree Project: Preliminary Findings and Results. Prepared for the Iowa Department of Management, Ames, Iowa.

Morse, Ricardo S., and collaborators. 2003. Wytheville-Wythe Horizons: A Community Vision. Institute for Policy Outreach, Blacksburg, Virginia.

MULTIMEDIA PROJECTS

Citizens Academies website (created Summer 2011). Resource for local government practitioners. Seehttp://www.sog.unc.edu/programs/citizensacademies/

Rothman, Erica (producer, director), Ricardo S. Morse (executive producer), and Donna Warner (executive producer). 2011 (June). The Whittier Sewer Project: Creating Public Value Through Collaboration. Short documentary film (12 minutes). Chapel Hill, NC: UNC School of Government and Nightlight Productions. Available at http://www.youtube.com/user/uncsog

Rothman, Erica (producer, director), Ricardo S. Morse (executive producer), and Donna Warner (executive producer). 2011 (January). The Wayne County Development Alliance. Short documentary film (9 minutes). Chapel Hill, NC: UNC School of Government and Nightlight Productions. Available at http://www.youtube.com/user/uncsog

Rothman, Erica (producer, director), Ricardo S. Morse (executive producer), and Donna Warner (executive producer). 2011 (January). Creating a Culture of Collaboration: Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro, NC. Short documentary film (10 minutes). Chapel Hill, NC: UNC School of Government and Nightlight Productions. Available at http://www.youtube.com/user/uncsog

Community and Economic Development in North Carolina and Beyond (School of Government Blog maintained by Tyler Mulligan). Regular contributor since November, 2009. See http://ced.sog.unc.edu/author/ctmullig/