We decide for ourselves who we think we are - and museums are central to that

In his new BBC Radio 4 series, curator and broadcaster Neil MacGregor explores the changing role of Britain's museums. He explains to Matt Elton why these venues are more vital now than ever

- Neil MacGregor

Matt Elton What ideas about museums did you aim to probe with this new series?

Neil MacGregor We wanted to explore the civic role of Britain's museums by looking at 20 institutions across the whole of the UK outside London. How are they rethinking their purpose in the community? How are they using their objects to engage with visitors in new ways? It seems to me that museums everywhere are looking again at their history, their collections, and their visitors, and thinking about them afresh.

We asked the staff of each museum to pick a single object - but, rather than choosing their greatest treasure, we wanted them to discuss an object that sums up the way in which the museum addresses a particular question or community.

We also talked to members of the public about what each object means to them, and the ways in which the museum is helping the community to reshape its future. What emerges is a fascinating overview of the kinds of questions that different regions and cities want to address, and the objects museums are using to offer answers.

At the time that we're speaking, you're about halfway through making the series. Which places or objects you've encountered so far best illustrate these themes?

Yes, we have been working our way slowly north. In Northern Ireland, we covered a particularly telling example: the Ulster Museum (part of National Museums NI) in Belfast. That's obviously a museum for which the question of national identity is extremely important. What does it mean to be Northern Irish, to be a citizen of Northern Ireland?