Narrative CV: Definition & Format

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

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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)

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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",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/narrative-cv",
  "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-career-stages#set",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/narrative-cv",
  "sameAs": [
    "Narrative biosketch",
    "Contribution-based CV"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-05-21T02:02:49",
  "inLanguage": "en"
}

Narrative CV

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Worked examples

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References

Use in your systems