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Biographical Sketch (Biosketch)

A biographical sketch (biosketch) is a streamlined version of a curriculum vitae (CV) requested by most funding agencies and institutions. A biosketch includes professional information such as education, positions held (including VA appointments), relevant experience, honors, and publications. The biosketch also shows qualifications for a specific project through a personal statement and may include disclosures required by the funding agency. 

Federal Agencies and Common Forms for Biosketches

To align with federal policy regarding the use of common disclosure forms, federal agencies must adopt the use of common disclosure forms for biosketches. The forms were developed by the Research Security Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to reduce variance in reporting requirements across federal research funding agencies. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Energy (DOE) have already implemented the common forms.

NIH, NSF and DOE require use of SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae) for biosketches and other federal agencies may require the use of SciENcv in the future. SciENcv combines information from different sources to produce digitally certified documents
required for federal grant submissions. SciENcv requires certification that individuals are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP). Additionally, U-M policy prohibits participation in MFTRPs.

Find more information on forms for specific agencies below. 

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIH applicants and recipients are required to submit biosketches in grant applications and progress reports when new senior/key personnel or other significant contributors are identified and to support prior approval requests for changes in senior/key personnel status and changes of recipient organization.

All senior/key personnel and other significant contributors are required to provide biosketches. Certain funding opportunities or programs may also request biosketches for additional team members, such as participating faculty for institutional training awards. 

Each senior/key personnel, including the program director/principal investigator, should submit only one biosketch for the entire application, even if involved in multiple components — simply attach it to one component.

NIH released its guidance for the implementation of common forms for biosketches using SciENcv, effective for application due dates on or after May 8, 2026, and just-in-time (JIT), research performance progress reports (RPPRs) and prior approval requests submitted starting May 8 (NIH-OD-26-079).

A summary of changes and tips for the new forms:

  • All individuals submitting common forms to NIH must use SciENcv to produce digitally certified PDF(s).
  • All senior/key personnel will need to obtain an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) for the Persistent Identifier section and link their ORCID to their eRA Commons Account.
  • Research Products are limited to 10.
  • No citations are included with the Personal Statement or Contributions to Science (may be referenced).
  • Positions and Scientific Appointments remain on the biosketch and the Honors are entered on the NIH biographical sketch supplement.
  • Currently there is no place to include an NCBI My Bibliography link (instead links to a researcher’s public ORCID profile). Tip: Update NCBI My Bibliography and ORCID to allow for quick import of citations. Make sure citations use consistent formatting (such as from My Bibliography) and include PMCIDs.
  • Research Security Training (RST) Certification is now included in the common forms to ensure compliance with this requirement for due dates on or after May 25, 2026 (NOT-OD-26-017). If common forms were certified prior to the addition of this text but not yet submitted for a due date on or after May 25, 2026, the forms should be regenerated prior to submission. (As a reminder, U-M already requires completion of RST within the past 12 months for investigators and covered individuals listed on a proposal approval form.)  
  • The RPPR, JIT, and Prior Approval eRA modules now allow common form attachments at an individual person-level (i.e., it is no longer necessary to compile forms of multiple individuals into a single flattened PDF document).
  • Only the investigator can digitally certify final forms, and no changes can be made to the PDF after download.


Quick links to NIH biosketch resources:

National Science Foundation (NSF)

For proposals and when adding new personnel to an active award, a biosketch must be provided separately for each individual designated as senior/key personnel through use of SciENcv. The NSF biosketch consists of five sections: Identifying Information, Organization and Location; Professional Preparation; Appointments and Positions; Products; Certification. There are no page limits to the NSF Biosketch. 

Synergistic Activities are no longer included in the biosketch but are instead uploaded as a separate document for senior/key personnel. The Synergistic Activities document is limited to one page. 

Quick links to NSF biosketch resources:

Department of Energy (DOE)

The DOE implemented the use of the Common Forms via the SciENcv system for biosketches starting Dec. 3, 2025. The new process replaces the agency’s use of the Resume form. A few highlights of the new policy:

  • DOE is not changing any of the data collection fields used in the biosketch; however, the policy provides DOE program offices with latitude to specify within a given notice of funding opportunity certain aspects of the data collected. For example, program offices may determine whether a digital persistent identifier (e.g., ORCID ID) is required. 
  • During the life of an award, recipient/subrecipient institutions adding new covered individuals to a project must submit the biosketch for the individual and receive DOE’s approval prior to the new covered individual joining the project team. 

Quick links to DOE biosketch resources:

Other Federal Agencies

Related Resources

Posted on: Monday, May 18, 2026 - 16:36