Roles & Permissions

ImpactMEL uses Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to ensure that every team member can see and do exactly what their job requires — and nothing more. Permissions are assigned at the organization level.

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The Four Roles

Org Admin

The highest permission level. Typically assigned to Country Directors, Operations Managers, or IT administrators.

An Org Admin can do everything in the system — configure the organization, manage all members, create and delete programs, approve data, and publish reports.

M&E Officer

Designed for MEAL officers, data managers, and M&E coordinators. They control the M&E architecture of the system: defining indicators, managing reporting periods, and reviewing submitted data.

An M&E Officer cannot manage organization settings or invite members, but has full control over the M&E workflow.

Reporter

Designed for field officers, project staff, and data entry personnel. Reporters are the people who submit indicator values and register participants.

A Reporter can only access projects they are specifically assigned to, and can only submit data — they cannot approve, edit other people's submissions, or change any system configuration.

Viewer

Designed for senior management, partner organizations, or anyone who needs to monitor progress without entering data.

A Viewer has read-only access to dashboards and reports across the organization. They cannot submit or approve any data.

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Full Permission Matrix

The table below shows exactly what each role can and cannot do. ✅ = allowed, ❌ = not allowed, 🔒 = only for assigned projects.

Organization & Members

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
View organization settings	✅	✅	❌	❌
Edit organization settings (name, logo)	✅	❌	❌	❌
View members list	✅	✅	❌	❌
Invite new members	✅	❌	❌	❌
Change a member's role	✅	❌	❌	❌
Remove a member	✅	❌	❌	❌
View audit log	✅	❌	❌	❌

Donors & Funders

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
View donors list	✅	✅	❌	❌
Create / edit donors	✅	✅	❌	❌
Delete donors	✅	❌	❌	❌

Programs

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
View all programs	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Create a program	✅	✅	❌	❌
Edit a program	✅	✅	❌	❌
Delete a program	✅	❌	❌	❌
Manage results framework	✅	✅	❌	❌

Projects

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
View all projects	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Create a project	✅	✅	❌	❌
Edit project details	✅	✅	❌	❌
Delete a project	✅	❌	❌	❌
Manage reporting periods	✅	✅	❌	❌
Lock / unlock a period	✅	✅	❌	❌

Indicators

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
View indicator library	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Create / edit indicators	✅	✅	❌	❌
Delete indicators	✅	❌	❌	❌
Link indicators to projects	✅	✅	❌	❌
Set indicator targets	✅	✅	❌	❌
Add disaggregations	✅	✅	❌	❌

Data Entry (Indicator Reports)

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
Submit indicator values (own submissions)	✅	✅	🔒	❌
Edit draft submissions (own)	✅	✅	🔒	❌
View all submissions	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Approve submissions	✅	✅	❌	❌
Reject submissions	✅	✅	❌	❌

Activities & Participants

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
View activities	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Create / edit activities	✅	✅	🔒	❌
Delete activities	✅	✅	❌	❌
Register participants	✅	✅	🔒	❌
Edit / remove participants	✅	✅	❌	❌
Export participant register	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Push participants to indicator	✅	✅	🔒	❌

Data Collection Forms

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
View forms library	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Create / edit forms	✅	✅	❌	❌
Publish / unpublish forms	✅	✅	❌	❌
View form submissions	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Export submissions	✅	✅	🔒	❌
Delete forms	✅	❌	❌	❌

Reports

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
View reports	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Create / assemble a report	✅	✅	❌	❌
Edit report narratives	✅	✅	❌	❌
Generate share link	✅	✅	❌	❌
Revoke share link	✅	✅	❌	❌
Download PDF	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Delete a report	✅	❌	❌	❌

Budget

Action	Org Admin	M&E Officer	Reporter	Viewer
View budget lines	✅	✅	🔒	✅
Add / edit budget lines	✅	✅	❌	❌
Delete budget lines	✅	❌	❌	❌

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🔒 Project Scoping for Reporters

The 🔒 symbol means a Reporter can perform the action only for the projects they are specifically assigned to. If a Reporter is not listed as a team member on a project, they cannot see that project at all.

To assign a Reporter to a project:

1. Open the project → Team tab (or Settings → Members)
2. Click + Assign Member
3. Select the reporter from your organization's member list
4. Click Assign

Reporters added to a project see it appear on their dashboard and can submit data for its indicators.

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Requesting a Role Change

If you need more permissions than your current role allows, contact your Org Admin and ask them to update your role. Role changes take effect immediately after the admin saves the update.

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Best Practices

Follow the principle of least privilege. Assign the minimum role that allows a person to do their job. Fewer admins means a smaller risk of accidental changes.

Use M&E Officer (not Org Admin) for most M&E staff. M&E Officers can do everything related to the M&E workflow without being able to delete programs or change organization settings.

Give Viewer access to senior management and partners. Viewers can monitor progress and see reports without any risk of accidentally changing data.

Assign Reporters to specific projects, not the whole org. This ensures field staff only see what is relevant to them and reduces information overload.

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📸 Figure 12.1 — Role Assignment Interface

The Settings → Members tab showing a member row for "Jean Baptiste M." with a "Reporter" role badge. An expanded dropdown shows the four role options (Org Admin, M&E Officer, Reporter, Viewer) with brief descriptions. The currently selected role is highlighted. A "Confirm Change" button appears at the bottom of the dropdown.

File: user-manual/images/12-01-role-assignment.png