Explainer · Plain-language
What is SciENcv?
SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae) is a free, electronic tool that helps researchers assemble and maintain the professional information needed for funder-required CV documents. It is provided by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the US National Library of Medicine, and supports several major United States funding agencies. SciENcv generates standardised, funder-compliant documents such as the NIH Biosketch and NSF formats, and integrates with ORCID so that researchers can populate their profiles automatically rather than re-keying information for each application.
The step most authors miss
Doing CRediT right? Don’t stop at the statement.
A CRediT statement credits you inside one paper. The recognition CRediT was built for happens when those roles are tied to you, persistently. Sign in with your ORCID — free — and claim your CRediT contributions on casrai.org, the home of the standard. They become a verified, portable part of your identity, not a line that disappears into one PDF.
Free: claim your contributions, then export a journal-ready CRediT statement, schema.org structured data, JATS XML, CSV or BibTeX — and preview your public profile. A membership publishes that profile publicly and verifies the journals you serve.
What SciENcv is and who runs it
SciENcv — Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae — is an online tool for building the funder-compliant CV documents that researchers must submit with grant applications. It is operated by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the US National Library of Medicine within the National Institutes of Health. Rather than being a single fixed CV, SciENcv lets a researcher maintain a profile of professional information — education, employment, contributions, funding, and publications — from which it generates the specific document format each agency requires. The same underlying information can therefore be reused to produce different funder formats without re-entering it each time.
The funder formats it produces
SciENcv generates several distinct funder documents. For the National Institutes of Health it produces the NIH Biographical Sketch (the "biosketch"). For the National Science Foundation it produces the NSF Biographical Sketch and the NSF Current and Pending (Other) Support document. Because each format has its own structure and rules — for example the NIH biosketch includes a personal statement and a contributions-to-science section, while the NSF formats have their own required sections — SciENcv applies the correct template and constraints automatically. This helps researchers produce documents that conform to each agency's current requirements.
ORCID integration and data reuse
A defining feature of SciENcv is its integration with ORCID. Researchers can link their ORCID iD to SciENcv and import information from their ORCID record, so that data already curated in ORCID can flow into the funder documents. Information can also move in the other direction, supporting a write-once, reuse-many approach to research profile data. This interoperability reduces the burden of maintaining the same biographical and publication information in multiple systems, and helps keep funder documents consistent with a researcher's authoritative ORCID profile.
The 2023 NIH and NSF mandate
In 2023 both the NIH and the NSF began requiring the use of SciENcv to prepare biosketch and current-and-pending-support documents for many of their applications. This mandate moved SciENcv from being a convenient option to being a required part of the submission process for the affected programmes. The practical effect is that researchers applying to these agencies prepare the relevant documents through SciENcv rather than in free-form word-processor templates, which supports consistency, certified accuracy of disclosures, and machine-readable structure. Researchers should always check the current agency guidance, as specific requirements and applicable formats are periodically updated.
Key facts
At a glance
- Full name: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae
- Operated by: National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), US National Library of Medicine
- Produces: NIH Biosketch, NSF Biographical Sketch, NSF Current and Pending (Other) Support
- Integration: Links with ORCID for data import and reuse
- Mandate: Required by NIH and NSF for relevant documents since 2023
- Cost: Free to use
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: SciENcv is a researcher identifier like ORCID.
Actually: No — SciENcv is a tool for generating funder CV documents, not a persistent identifier. It integrates with ORCID, which is the identifier; the two are complementary rather than equivalent.
Often heard: SciENcv is only for the NIH.
Actually: No — although hosted within the NIH's NCBI, SciENcv produces documents for multiple US funders, including NSF formats such as the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support.
Often heard: Using SciENcv is optional for NIH and NSF applications.
Actually: No longer for many cases — since 2023 the NIH and NSF have required SciENcv to prepare the relevant biosketch and current-and-pending documents; researchers should check current agency guidance for the exact scope.
Going deeper
