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v2026.1CASRAI Dictionary 714 entries across 20 domains · CC-BY 4.0714 entries · CC-BY 4.0

Dictionary termTrack AStablev2026.2

Narrative CV

A researcher curriculum vitae format that uses prose narrative descriptions of contributions, career trajectory, and impact in place of (or alongside) traditional structured lists of publications, grants, and metrics, intended to give context to outputs and recognise broader research contributions.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 21 May 2026

Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
A UKRI R4RI; an NIH Biosketch personal statement

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
A bullet-point list of 200 publications ordered by year is not a narrative CV

Editorial commentary

Adopted in various forms by UKRI (R4RI), the Dutch Recognition & Rewards programme, NIH Biosketch (which has narrative sections), and Swiss SNSF. Narrative CVs are central to the DORA and CoARA shift away from metrics-driven assessment.

References

DORA Declaration (2012)
CoARA Agreement (2022)
Royal Society R4RI Resume for Researchers (2020 v1, 2024 mandate)

Also known as

Narrative biosketch · Contribution-based CV

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Narrative CV"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/narrative-cv" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "name": "Narrative CV",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/narrative-cv",
  "description": "A researcher curriculum vitae format that uses prose narrative descriptions of contributions, career trajectory, and impact in place of (or alongside) traditional structured lists of publications, grants, and metrics, intended to give context to outputs and recognise broader research contributions.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/mentorship-training-and-career-stages/",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/narrative-cv",
  "sameAs": [
    "Narrative biosketch",
    "Contribution-based CV"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}

Referenced across the research world

View CASRAI adoption →