In 2024, MDN launched an ambitious initiative to help museums across the North of England strengthen their resilience to environmental risk. Supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Environmental Risks & Management training formed a key strand of MDN’s wider Future Preparedness programme, designed to help heritage organisations respond confidently to the growing challenges posed by climate change, historic building vulnerabilities and evolving collections care requirements.

Recognising the increasing need for support, MDN appointed Mortice to design and facilitate 5 comprehensive learning sessions that would bring together leading voices across the sector and case studies from peers. Insights gathered from participating museums in advance on priorities and specific challenges formed the foundation for the programme’s design, ensuring each session addressed practical and relevant issues.

Our Approach

The programme attracted significant interest, with 16 organisations representing 30 museums taking part. This created a collaborative learning environment where museums of varied sizes and specialisms could share experiences, challenges, and solutions.

The programme brought together a diverse mix of museums, creating a collaborative environment where participants could share experiences and gain practical tools for managing climate‑related risks. We delivered an introductory session, giving delegates the opportunity to meet, align priorities and begin working with a bespoke workbook created specifically for the programme. This workbook was developed and expanded for each session, supporting reflection, documentation and application of learning.

Throughout the programme, we produced tailored presentations and curated contributions from sector specialists, ensuring each session delivered practical, actionable insight. Guest speakers joined from organisations including Historic England, Arts Council England, Historic Buildings and Places, and Purcell, enriching the content with real-world expertise and case studies.

The second cohort will be running September to December 2026, with expression of interest in from 20th May 2026.

Find out more:

Museum Development North

Climate Change Risks and Hazards