Research Requests

The Research Requests module provides a structured inbox for managing inquiries from researchers, journalists, family historians, and the public. Requests can arrive via your public web form or be entered manually by staff.

Viewing Requests

Navigate to Operations > Research Requests to see the full list of inquiries. Filter by:

• Status: Open, In Progress, Awaiting Information, Closed.
• Priority: Low, Normal, High, Urgent.
• Source: Web Form, Email, Manual.
• Assigned To: Filter by the staff member responsible.

Creating a Request Manually

1. Click New Request.
2. Fill in the requester’s details (name, email, organisation).
3. Enter a Title and detailed Description of the inquiry.
4. Set the Priority and assign it to a staff member.
5. Click Save.

Managing a Request

Open any request to see its full detail view:

• Actions Log: A chronological record of all interactions and internal notes.
• Reply: Send a response directly to the requester from within the system.
• Add Note: Record an internal note (not visible to the requester).
• Change Status: Update the status as the inquiry progresses.

AI-Assisted Reply Drafting

When composing a reply, click AI: Draft Reply to have the AI generate a professional response based on the inquiry’s title and description. Review and edit the draft before sending.

This requires AI features to be enabled and credits to be available. See the AI Assistant guide for details.

Research Settings

An Administrator can configure the Research module under Administration > Research Settings:

• Auto-acknowledgement: Automatically send a confirmation email when a new web form inquiry is received.
• Default Assignee: Set a default staff member for new incoming requests.

Permissions Required

• View Research Requests (research_read): View the list and open individual records.
• Manage Research Requests (research_update): Create requests, add notes, send replies, and change statuses.