User Management & Permissions

Museum Exchange includes institution user roles to help identify each user’s function within the platform.

While several role titles are available, the main permission difference in Museum Exchange is between Administrator users and all other institution users.

Why user roles matter

User roles help institutions:

• identify each user’s role within the organization
• organize teams in Museum Exchange
• control who can take certain higher-permission actions in the platform

In practice, the most important access distinction is whether a user is an Administrator.

Institution user roles

Museum Exchange currently supports the following institution user roles:

• Administrator
• Chief Curator
• Collection Manager
• Curator
• Curatorial Assistant
• Development Officer
• Director
• Facilities Manager
• Registrar

Administrator

The Administrator role has elevated permissions in Museum Exchange. An Administrator role is required to make important changes in the platform, including approving donations for proposal.

Institutions should assign the Administrator role carefully and only to users who need to take higher-permission actions on behalf of the institution.

All other institution roles

All other institution roles are primarily used to identify the user’s title or function within the institution. These roles may help provide context within Museum Exchange, but they do not have the same elevated permissions as an Administrator.

This means that, from a permissions standpoint, the key distinction is:

Administrator = elevated permissions All other roles = standard institution access

Choosing the right role

When signing up for an account, institutions should consider two things:

• Does this user need elevated platform permissions?
• What title or function best represents this user within the institution?

If the user needs to approve donations for proposal or make broader institutional changes in Museum Exchange, they should be assigned the Administrator role.

If not, the appropriate non-administrator role can be selected based on the user’s institutional title or function.

Best practices

To manage user roles effectively:

• assign Administrator access only when necessary
• use non-administrator roles to reflect the user’s institutional function
• review Administrator assignments periodically
• update roles when responsibilities change

Common questions

Which role can approve donations for proposal?

The Administrator role is required to approve donations for proposal.

Do non-administrator roles have different permissions from one another?

In general, no. The main permissions difference in Museum Exchange is between Administrator users and all other institution users.

Why are there multiple non-administrator roles?

These roles help identify the user’s title or function within the institution, even if they do not have materially different permissions in the platform.

Should every institution user be an Administrator?

No. The Administrator role should be assigned only to users who need elevated permissions. Administrators can approve proposals, which solidify a match on Museum Exchange.