The Cultural Olympiad has had its detractors since it was officially launched soon after the Beijing Games, with many decrying its ?40 million budget. The truth is, this four-yearly event is not just the cultural preserve of the recognised collections and exhibitions of the big galleries and museums, but hands centre stage to smaller non-national museums.

I would go as far as to argue that the smaller non-national museums provide credible support to national museums as Olympic budgets come under greater scrutiny and we have to think of innovative ways to deliver a cost effective and memorable Cultural Olympiad.

The partnerships between national and non-national museums are often under played, and these collaborations will equip London for the cultural challenges ahead. Touring exhibitions and collections, programme of loans, as well as cultural exchanges, such as the British Museum's joint venture with Brent providing a local platform for the viewing of the famous Gayer Anderson Cat, are now an integral part of this relationship.

Mayor Boris Johnson's recent publication of 'Cultural Metropolis ? The Mayor's Priorities for Culture 2009-2012', is evidence that the museums sector, alongside other cultural and creative sectors, are uniquely positioned to ensure massive public engagement and to deliver a lasting cultural legacy.

The majority of London's 250 non-national museums I have visited over the years are spread across twenty-six of the thirty three local authorities who have rich and diverse histories, but are often in the shadow of their bigger, more influential national museums with greater financial and cultural clout.

Like so many of smaller non-nationals, our museum's work is not confined within the walls of its sites. We are enthusiastic outreach workers in London and see ourselves as key partners of the Story of London Festival and the Cultural Olympiad in London. Nowhere is this more evident than in the exciting project that we have already worked up and endorsed through the London Museums Hub for the festival and 2012 to engage young people across the whole of London in their local museum collections.

The injection of support from central government, through the Renaissance programme has reinvigorated the museum sector and if offering much needed support to many smaller museums in the run-up to 2012. The London Museums Hub, a partnership between the Museum of London, the Horniman, the Geffrye, the London Transport Museum, is the leading partner in Renaissance London.

Today non-national museums contribute to London's constantly changing communities and are responsible for telling a myriad of stories. These local museums not only offer unprecedented support to schools in teaching history, but London benefits from these rich network of museums, which now draw on cultural diversity to give us a different understanding of London.

Increasingly, smaller non-national museums are being forced to become more relevant as no museum is designed to live forever. While many face challenging times ahead, and even closure, the preservation of history must be paramount, especially as smaller museums have relevance outside their immediate catchment area.

The London Fire Brigade Museum, residence of the brigade's first chief officer Captain Eyre Massey Shaw, is an important Southwark landmark which faces an uncertain future. Few museums can survive by appointment only, but no one can deny that the history of organised fire fighting in London, from the Great Fire in 1666 to the present day and the collection of fire engines, make this a story we must preserve.

When funding to Wandsworth Museum was cut by councillors in February 2007 following a shortfall in government budgets, this decision could have signaled the end of this popular local museum. But the closure galvanized not only the local residents but also philanthropists Michael and Dorothy Hintze. They plan to re-open the museum at a new site in 2010.

Southwark's decision to close the popular Peckham-based Livesey Museum, one of the UK's leading children's museums in February 2008, also sparked similar response from the local community and there is a current campaign and proposal to re-open the museum. It was the first children's museum in Britain and since it was converted to a museum in 1974 had established a reputation for some of the most interactive installations in the country. These two cases offer an eloquent example of museums forced to re-invent themselves in order to preserve local cultural heritage.

Many small museums play to their obvious strengths and often punch above their weight. Look not further than the William Morris Gallery in Waltham Forest and the Gunnersbury Park Museum in Acton, West London, for two such examples. The internationally- renowned collections of the William Morris Gallery, opened by Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 1950, is the only public museum devoted to England's best-known and versatile designer.

The Gunnersbury Park Museum housed in the Grade II listed Regency building, became the first country residence of the famous Rothschild banking family, and now collects and displays for the London Boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow. They are both proof that the fusion of unique local heritage and collections are an irresistible and winning combination.

The list of diverse museums across London and the South East is endless confirming that the necklace of important places spreads beyond central London. We should not forget that our sporting heritage is also well represented in the shape of the MCC Museum, Museum of Rugby, and The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Association Museum.

The reason that many of these museums are thriving is because they are rooted in their respective communities and have developed innovative activities and exhibitions to bring history to life. Evidence shows that schools that work closely with local museums experience a much higher engagement in history by children.

At the heart of the London Museums Hub project for the Story of London Festival and Cultural Olympiad, is an initiative to engage communities in selecting and putting on show museum objects which resonate locally. Underpinning this programme of engagement is the promotion of volunteerism, which local museums in London have been generally poor in developing.

Volunteering is the true legacy of what we are about, but it will also result in significant place-making as Londoners find their part of London's story. Through exploring local collections, providing a focus for local residents to engage in an Olympic project and ultimately showcase a diverse and, in many instances, an unknown London to the world.