There are different types of users and permissions within the Cool Farm Platform (CFP). These determine what users can do on the platform, how many assessments they can complete, whether they can export data, and which Aggregation Groups they can access.
This guide explains the different user types and how organisations can manage access for their teams, farmers and external collaborators.
Everyone starts by registering for an account on the Cool Farm Platform.
A standard free account allows users to:
Complete up to 5 assessments.
View and manage their own assessments.
If someone registers using an email address with a domain associated with an existing Cool Farm member organisation, they will automatically be added to that organisation.
This unlocks the relevant member benefits, including:
Unlimited assessments.
The ability to export assessment data.
Users who are automatically added to a member organisation do not need to request access separately.
Member organisations often work with people who don't have an email address associated with their organisation. For example:
Farmers completing their own assessments.
External consultants working on behalf of the organisation.
Contractors or project partners.
There are two ways to provide these users with access.
A Member Admin can create a Permission Set and assign external users to it.
Permission Sets allow organisations to control:
Assessment limits: Choose how many assessments users can complete, for example 500 or 3,000.
Export permissions: Choose whether users can export their assessment data.
This provides a flexible way to give external users access to the platform without adding them directly to the organisation.
For instructions, see our guide: [How to create and manage Permission Sets](INSERT LINK).
If necessary, the Cool Farm Support team can manually add users with different email domains to your organisation.
However, we generally recommend using Permission Sets instead. Users added directly to an organisation may retain their member benefits until they are manually removed.
If you think this option is necessary, please contact support@coolfarm.org.
A Member Admin is a user with additional permissions to manage users, permissions and Aggregation Groups within their organisation.
Member Admins can:
Manage users and permissions
Create and manage Permission Sets.
Add users to Permission Sets.
Set assessment limits and export permissions for those users.
Manage Aggregation Groups
Create and manage Aggregation Groups.
View all Aggregation Groups created by other Member Admins within their organisation.
View the assessments shared with those groups.
Create and manage Aggregation Reports.
Manage Aggregation Group viewer access
Grant individual users access to specific Aggregation Groups.
View and manage the list of users who have been granted viewer access.
An organisation can have multiple Member Admins. All Member Admins within the same organisation can see each other's Aggregation Groups.
Member Admin permissions are granted by Cool Farm Support. If you need this role, please contact support@coolfarm.org. Approval from your organisation's Main Contact will be required.
An Aggregation Group Viewer is an individual user who has been given permission to view a specific Aggregation Group.
This is useful when someone needs to access shared assessment data but doesn't need to see every Aggregation Group within your organisation.
For example:
A consultant who needs to analyse data from a particular project.
A colleague who works with one specific group of farmers.
An external partner who needs access to selected assessment results.
A Member Admin can grant viewer access using the Aggregation Group ID and the user's email address through the Cool Farm Platform API documentation.
Users with viewer access can:
View the Aggregation Groups they have been granted access to.
View the assessments shared with those groups.
Export the shared assessment results.
Viewer access does not give someone Member Admin permissions or access to other Aggregation Groups within the organisation.
For step-by-step instructions, see our guide: How to grant and manage Aggregation Group viewer access.
The table below summarises the different types of access available on the Cool Farm Platform.
| Permission | Free User | Member User | Member Admin | Aggregation Group Viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complete assessments | Up to 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Depends on underlying account |
| Export own assessments | No | Yes | Yes | Depends on underlying account |
| Create Permission Sets | No | No | Yes | No |
| Manage users in Permission Sets | No | No | Yes | No |
| Create and manage Aggregation Groups | No | No | Yes | No |
| View all Aggregation Groups in their organisation | No | No | Yes | No |
| View specifically assigned Aggregation Groups | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Export shared assessment results | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Create and manage Aggregation Reports | No | No | Yes | No |
Important: Aggregation Group Viewer is an additional permission rather than a separate account type. A user can be a free user or a member user and also be granted viewer access to specific Aggregation Groups. Their underlying assessment limits and other account permissions remain separate from their Aggregation Group access.
If you have questions about user permissions, adding users to your organisation or managing Aggregation Group access, please contact the Cool Farm Support team at support@coolfarm.org.