Using SciENcv to Create an NIH Biosketch and Other Support Documents

The PREVIEW versions of the NIH biosketch and the Current and Pending (Other) Support (CPOS) Common Forms are now available in SciENcv!

Researchers are encouraged to log into SciENcv and familiarize themselves with these forms well in advance of their required use (projected for sometime in 2026).

Key Features and Notes:

• The PREVIEW versions should NOT be used for grant applications. They are only available as practice documents. The Download PDF / Certification functionality is disabled.
• The PREVIEW NIH biosketch also includes the NIH Biosketch Supplement (which contains the Honors, Personal Statement and Contributions to Science sectons)
• The final versions of these forms are projected to be available in SciENcv in November 2025.
• You can use a current NIH biosketch (or other biosketch format) in SciENcv to import your information into the Common Form sketch, but you cannot upload a Word document or other document to populate a SciENcv sketch.
  • When you use a current format NIH biosketch to populate the Common Form PREVIEW sketch, your personal information, Professional Preparation (education), Appointments and Positions, and Products will be imported. 
  • Personal Statement, Honors, and Contributions to Science are not imported from a current NIH biosketch into the Biographical Sketch Supplement.
• For NIH, there is no page limit for the Biographical Sketch Common Form.
  • There is now a limit to the length of the Personal Statement (3500 characters)
  • There is a limit to the number of Honors you can include (15 maximum)
  • You are still allowed to list up to 5 Contributions to Science, but each one may not exceed 2000 characters. You may NOT include references in Contributions to Science. Instead, you may refer to publications/products that you have selected for the Other Significant Products section. 
• There are instructions for each section of the sketch, and links to more detailed instructions.

See details about the new format requirements and implementation from links in the box below.

We'll be updating this guide to reflect the new forms. 

September 5, 2025 - The NIH announced that they will be transitioning to the Common Forms for the following forms in 2026.

• NIH biosketch (announcement)
• Current and Pending (Other) Support (CPOS) (announcement)

They will also implement the new NIH Biosketch supplement in 2026:

• Biosketch supplement (announcement)

When the new forms are implemented:

• Applicants will also be required to use SciENcv to create these forms
  • Applicants are urged to familiarize themselves with SciENcv before the requirement for its use goes into effect.
• All applicants must link their ORCiD to their eRA Commons profiles, since ORCiDs will also be required when the new forms go into effect.  

The details and projected dates are available in NIH NOT-OD-25-152 - Preview of NIH Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support Coming Soon to SciENcv.

Previews of the instructions for each of the forms are currently available in the NIH Forms Library and as links from the announcements (linked above and here for convenience).

• PREVIEW - Instructions for the CPOS Common Form
• PREVIEW - Instructions for the NIH Biographical Sketch Common Form
• PREVIEW - Instructions for the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement 

As of September 8, the previews of the forms themselves are not yet available in SciENcv, but they are expected to begin to appear in SciENcv in "on or before" September 15, 2025. While the forms are in PREVIEW mode, the download and certification functionality will be disabled, but users may create and edit these preview forms. The final forms are expected to be available in SciENcv in November 2025. 

During the time that the forms are available only as previews:

"Under no circumstances may applicants or recipients use the preview documents for submissions to NIH. During this preview period, applicants and recipients must continue to use the current NIH Biosketch (generated either through SciENcv or NIH Form Library.docx templates) and Other Support Format Pages for all submissions to NIH until NIH’s official implementation of the Common Forms."

NIH Common Forms Implementation: Important Changes Coming

The NIH issued a notice (NOT-OD-24-163) about the implementing Common Forms (Biosketch and Current and Pending [Other] Support) for all applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) submitted on or after May 25, 2025. (This was the expected implementation date.) 

Update: March 25, 2025: The NIH has postponed the mandated use of SciENcv for biosketch and Other Support documents. 

They have not released a new target date for the mandated change. 

Source: https://grants.nih.gov/policy-and-compliance/implementation-of-new-initiatives-and-policies/common-forms-for-biosketch#timing

Until the new forms are required, investigators should continue to use the current NIH biosketch and Other Support forms.

Key Changes: 

• NIH will require the use of the NIH/NCBI Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) to generate a digitally certified PDF biosketch and Other Support form for use in NIH application submission for all Senior/Key Personnel. 
• The NIH will change the biosketch format significantly by adopting the "Common Form": a form used by all federal agencies for biosketches
  • The Common Form is currently available in SciENcv as the "NSF Biographical Sketch"
  • There will no longer be a Personal Statement, Awards and Honors, or Contributions to Science section in the Common Form
    • NIH will introduce a new NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement form, which will also be available in SciENcv, to capture three required agency-specific data elements: Personal Statement, Contributions to Science, and Honors.

ORCID ID Requirement: 

• Senior/Key Personnel must obtain an ORCID ID and enter it in the Persistent Identifier (PID) section of the Common Forms. 
• The ORCID ID must be linked to your eRA Commons Personal Profile. 

Reminder: Until the NIH fully adopts the Common Forms, applicants and recipients should continue using the continue to use the current NIH biosketch and Other Support forms for applications, Just-in-Time (JIT) Reports, and RPPRs. 

Want to get a head start? 

• Sign up for or connect your ORCID to your Northwestern NetID: Link to ORCID 
• Link your ORCID to your eRA Commons Account: 
  • Northwestern’s Guide to Linking ORCID to eRA Commons 
  • eRA Commons ORCID Information 
• Link your ORCiD and eRA Commons to your NCBI user account
• Feinberg Faculty Only: Connect your ORCID to your Northwestern Elements Profile.   

What are we doing to help? 
A collaboration among Northwestern's Sponsored Research, Galter Health Sciences Library, and Research Administration Managers are preparing webinars and online guides for faculty and research administrators to provide guidance on these changes. Details will be shared once more information becomes available. 

The National Institutes of Health is the largest biomedical funder in the world. Its mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. There are 27 institutes and centers that compose the NIH, and 24 of those offer funding opportunities and award grants. NIH funding is made through these institutes and centers. 

There are five grant programs:

• Research Grants (R series)
• Career Development Awards (K series)
• Research Training and Fellowships (T & F)
• Program Project/Center Grants (P series)
• Resource Grants (various series)