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Building the evidence base for narrative CVs (DORA)

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Building the evidence base for narrative CVs (DORA)

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Hannah Frith presented findings from the "Breaking Barriers" research, a project that ran from August 2024 to August 2025. The study focused on how NCVs impact researchers from underrepresented groups. The approach included interviews with 20 underrepresented researchers, narrative CV writing workshops, linguistic analysis of 27 UKRI-templated CVs, and evaluation of those CVs by external reviewers. The project was funded by EDICa.

Main insights include:

Applicant experience & barriers: Researchers broadly recognized the value of NCVs but reported significant barriers to adoption, including the burden of adopting a new style of language and feelings of anxiety. This burden was particularly noted by researchers for whom English was not their first language or those with disabilities/neurodiversity.

Linguistic bias: Linguistic analysis, using tools like BERT agent and LIWC22, found that some minority groups were less likely to use agentic language and language associated with certainty. Reviewers subsequently rated applications featuring less agentic/certainty language less positively across metrics like expertise, success, and leadership.

Future needs: The researchers emphasized the need for a single, evolving resource hub that provides consistent information, increased transparency regarding how reviewer evaluations are conducted, and personalized mentorship opportunities, which applicants highly valued.

HannahFrith_Surrey slides.

Luisa Ciampi detailed an ongoing mixed-method randomized control trial at the University of Cambridge, focused on understanding how NCVs affect postdoctoral recruitment, primarily in STEM fields. The study compares applicant rankings based on standard CVs versus narrative CVs.

Main insights include:

Impact on reviewing: Preliminary qualitative findings suggest panel members feel NCVs have a limited effect on shortlisting, with technical skills remaining the most important factor at this stage. NCVs generally take more time to assess and write, though this perception is often linked to the novelty of the format.

Disparity trends: Quantitative data suggests that compared to standard CV, moving to Narrative CV benefited men, applicants from the Global South, and applicants self-identifying as white .

Future focus: The team is aiming to enroll 25 recruitments, developing a narrative CV resource (including deconstructed examples), and convening international stakeholders to potentially develop and test alternative NCV templates for postdoctoral recruitment.

LuisaCiampi_Cambridge slides.

Judit Varga and Wolfgang Kaltenbrunner presented findings from the RoRI NARRATIVES Project, which analyzed the evaluative use of NCVs across three European funders-NWO (Rubicon grant, early career), SNSF (Ambizione grant, early career), and Volkswagen Foundation (Momentum grant, professors)-and across two broad disciplinary categories (Social Sciences/Humanities and Natural Sciences).

Main insights include:

Resistance as impact: The study found that NCVs prompt reviewers to articulate new scientific virtues and contributions, such as non-academic experiences or interdisciplinarity. Critically, moments of resistance - where reviewers revert to traditional criteria like publication prestige - still occur, but this resistance itself signals the impact of NCVs by demonstrating that alternative forms of evaluation are being considered.

The crucial rationale: The use of NCVs depends significantly on the reviewers' understanding of the initiative's rationale. A purely procedural understanding (e.g., using NCVs because DORA mandates action against journal impact factors) is less supportive of reform than a value-based reflection (e.g., NCVs can help "hidden champions" tell their stories better).

Future support: Upcoming work includes a CWTS service project designed to help organizations (universities and funders) prepare for NCV introduction by instructing program officers and research managers on how to deal with challenges and resistance, focusing practice on the side of the organizations rather than solely on applicants.

JuditWolfgang_RoRI slides.

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Karen Stroobants summarized findings from this comprehensive review project, a collaboration reviewing existing evaluations and studies on NCV implementation across stakeholder groups. The project was funded by the UK Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) and the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Metascience fund.

Broad acceptance, limited valuation: The review confirms broad acceptance of NCVs, with applicants generally more positive than reviewers, appreciating the opportunity for broader recognition. The introduction of an NCV format fulfills the objective of recognizing broader contributions, but as a standalone intervention , does not guarantee that those contributions are actually valued .

Reviewer support gap: A primary finding is the lack of sufficient support and training for reviewers, which presents a major barrier to achieving intended outcomes. Reviewers particularly struggled when publication lists were discouraged.

Systemic alignment: Whether the potential of NCVs is realized depends both on reviewer support/training and whether other system-wide measures are aligned in the same people-oriented direction. The team is preparing a review paper and a series of briefings targeted at organizations implementing NCVs.

KarenStroobants_Cambridge slides.

The subsequent discussion among the CoP members delved into critical challenges raised by the studies:

The documentation and trust challenge: Participants questioned how to provide verifiable evidence for "soft skills" or competences (like teamwork) listed in NCVs. It was noted that this challenge exists in traditional CVs too (e.g., assessing the quality of supervised students based on number alone). The consensus emphasized that NCVs require organizations to broaden the forms of evidencing they trust. Trust is vital, and the level of required evidence should be proportional to the decision being made. New forms of evidencing could include using the reflexive and coherent manner in which an applicant tells their story as evidence of scientific independence.

The role of rationale in change management: It was noted that institutional guidance often cuts the rationale or "why" in favor of brevity of guidance documents. Wolfgang emphasized that for reform initiatives to succeed, they must explicitly "front-load the big normative discussion" about why the change is being made. Relying solely on procedural changes or 'nudging' without clear value reflection is less effective. It was suggested that conversations and reflections on values need to be fostered alongside procedures.

Funder vs. Institution implementation: Karen emphasized that implementing NCVs at Research Performing Organizations (RPOs) presents a greater challenge than at Research Funding Organizations (RFOs). RPOs often have decentralized recruitment where groups prioritize technical requirements and may not be guided by a central rationale, making it harder to shift assessment practices.

The meeting concluded with updates from group members and opportunities for ongoing collaboration:

Collaboration request: Luisa extended an open call for review input on the adaptable NCV template being developed by the Cambridge team for postdoctoral recruitment. Interested parties can contact her at lc886@cam.ac.uk .

CoARA: Karen Stroobants (CoARA Vice-Chair) announced that CoARA is celebrating its third birthday soon and has launched a Spotlight Series to increase the dissemination and visibility of outputs generated by its Working Groups.

Scholarly Communication & RRA: Bianca Kramer (Barcelona Declaration Executive Director) highlighted an upcoming workshop on November 15, 2025, in Pisa, convened by DORA, ASAPbio, CWTS, and the International Science Council, focusing on the critical link between publication reform and research assessment reform .

DORA Initiatives: DORA plans to host an event on innovations in research assessment in the US on November 20th, focusing on anonymization in selection processes and training for peer reviewers. Looking ahead, DORA will launch an "RRA 101" introductory course in early 2026, aimed at providing fundamental knowledge about responsible research assessment to a broad audience, including those focused on open science or societal impact who may not yet see RRA as relevant to their work.

INORMS REG: Dr. Erica Conte will chair the one-year CoARA Working Group (WG) "Thinking critically about University Rankings Network" (TURN). The SCOPE4Impact Focus Group recently published a critical blog post on the London School of Economics' Impact Blog ( How responsible is Clarivate's 'Responsible Impact Assessment Framework?' ). They are organizing a summit on February 11, 2026 to discuss the implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in research evaluation within the context of Responsible Research Assessment (RRA).

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Building the evidence base for narrative CVs | DORA

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Four research groups shared their work on Narrative CVs, offering perspectives on: applicant experiences, reviewer behavior and decision-making in NCV-based assessments, and systemic challenges in driving cultural change within institutions. Each presentation covered project goals, methodologies, early findings, and future directions. Access the full recording, presentation slides, and a summary of discussions.

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The Hidden Curriculum of the Narrative CV

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The Hidden Curriculum of the Narrative CV (Bell 2025)

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The Hidden Curriculum of the Narrative CV (Bell 2025)

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The Auditorium: a research culture and researcher development blog

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By Dr Elizabeth Adams, Independent Coach and Research Culture Consultant at Scafell Coaching. In early 2021, I was part of a University of Glasgow project on the use of narrative CVs in funding app…

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Implementing Narrative CVs - Five recommendations for Funders (Varga and Kaltenbrunner 2025)

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Implementing Narrative CVs - Five recommendations for Funders (Varga and Kaltenbrunner 2025)

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Skip to main content

Narrative CVs complement traditional researcher biographies by incorporating narrative elements that highlight skills, trajectories, and achievements in a more holistic way. They have the potential to diversify the scientific workforce, broaden academic values, and foster innovative, societally relevant research.

Based on findings from RoRI's NARRATIVES project, this report outlines five key recommendations to help funders create a supportive environment for the effective implementation of Narrative CVs.

Funding

RoRI's second phase (2023-2027) is funded by an international consortium of partners, including: Australian Research Council (ARC); Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR); Digital Science; Dutch Research Council (NWO); Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation [Grant number GBMF12312; DOI 10.37807/GBMF12312]; King Baudouin Foundation; La Caixa Foundation; Leiden University; Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR); Michael Smith Health Research BC; National Research Foundation of South Africa; Novo Nordisk Foundation [Grant number NNF23SA0083996]; Research England (part of UK Research and Innovation); Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC); Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF); University College London (UCL); Volkswagen Foundation; and Wellcome Trust [Grant number 228086/Z/23/Z].

History

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RoRI Insights: Implementing Narrative CVs - Five recommendations for Funders

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Narrative CVs complement traditional researcher biographies by incorporating narrative elements that highlight skills, trajectories, and achievements in a more holistic way. They have the potential to diversify the scientific workforce, broaden academic values, and foster innovative, societally relevant research.Based on findings from RoRI's NARRATIVES project, this report outlines five key recommendations to help funders create a supportive environment for the effective implementation of Narrative CVs.

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Narrative CV Implementation and Feedback (FNR, Luxembourg)

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Narrative CV Implementation and Feedback (FNR, Luxembourg)

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In 2021, the FNR introduced a narrative-style CV template for Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs requesting funding from FNR programmes, currently called the “Individual Narrative Profile”.

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Narrative CVs: What now? What next? (Research Culture Uncovered, University of Leeds) [March 2025]

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Narrative CVs: What now? What next? (Research Culture Uncovered, University of Leeds) [March 2025]

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Narrative CV. Resume for Research and Innovation. Evidence based cv. Whatever you choose to call it, it's here to stay. Funders and universities both in the UK and elsewhere, are increasingly moving towards a narrative format of cv. The aim of this change is to encourage researchers to share a wider range of achievements than traditional academic CVs and move away from the narrow measures of performance that we've used in the past. But is this working? How do we feel about this new format and what comes next? Welcome to the Research Culture Uncovered podcast. I'm Taryn Bell and I'm joined today by my co host, Emma Sparry.

Hi Taryn, and thank you for having me. It's slightly nervous sitting on this side of the recording, but yes, I'm Emma and I work in the Research and Development and Culture team at the University of Leeds.

So all the way back in season six, you recorded a couple of episodes with Elizabeth Adams in which you discussed the development of narrative CVs and for those interested, links to those episodes can be found in the show notes. Almost a year and a half on from those episodes, a lot has happened and it seems like a really good time to revisit this topic. We've seen a number of funders introduce their own versions of this new format. Some universities are using narrative CVs for hiring and promotion, and very recently in the UK they're even name checked in the Research Excellence Framework or ref, as an indicator of inclusivity. Now, Emma, the reason I've asked you to come on and talk about this is that you have a really unique perspective because you've developed a lot of our narrative CV support at Leeds, you sit on UKRI's alternative uses group and you had to write one yourself for your role as Deputy Director of Research Culture. So let's start there. What was it like for you writing your own Narrative CV?

Honestly, it was really daunting. I immediately started focusing on what I didn't think I had looking at the empty boxes, thinking, what on earth am I going to be able to put in here? But then when I started drafting the bullet points, I realized actually there was quite a lot of stuff. And that took me to the other extreme because it became really wordy, really long, really quite rambly. So. Okay, now I've got to start thinking about how I Make it more concise, how do I focus in on what's really important? But I think actually the overall structure helped me to evidence my experience that I may not have thought about including in a traditional CV or application. So I think on the whole it was a positive experience. I mean, how good it was, I don't know. You would have to ask the recruitment panel.

But I certainly felt it enabled me to give a really wide evidenced example of everything I had accomplished and also how that had made a difference.

It's interesting because your experience, your personal experience of writing a narrative CV feels to me like it mirrors what they were designed to do to give that broader understanding of what you've achieved. But at the same time, I think, speaking about some of the challenges of writing it, I think those mirror a lot of what we're hearing from the academic community as well. So just broadening out a little bit, thinking about both our own experience at Leeds and our connections with other academics and other research developers elsewhere. How have narrative CVs been received by the academic community so far?

Blimey, that's a really mixed one, isn't it? I think it depends on who you ask. There are some people who have embraced them, they can see why we're doing it, but there are also people who see these as an additional barrier. I think the researcher developers are probably a little bit more pragmatic. We know they're not going anywhere, so we have had to flex and adapt to meet the needs. So not only how do we support our researchers to be able to use these, but how do we then, as an institution, focus on the positives and the benefits that they bring?

I find from my own experience working with researchers, is that sometimes they need the rationale behind why this has been introduced to understand, to understand why they need to do it. Because for some of them it can feel just like, oh, here's another hoop I have to jump through. Here's another thing that I have to do.

Yeah, and I know you mentioned that I'd created a lot of the narrative CV support here at Leeds, but you are now leading on this, so you're probably getting the brunt of the frustrations I had at the beginning. Researchers coming to us, wanting us to have all of the answers and also wanting us to be the sort of defender of their use. And I've lost count of how many times I, and probably you have been asked to clarify why we chose to do this. It wasn't us, it wasn't our decision.

That can be. That can be for me quite difficult, like you say, being, being forced to, or being asked to justify why this new thing has come in. But actually something that I've noticed recently, probably over the last year or so, is that there are really useful ways to use the narrative CV beyond just applying for jobs. And I think this for me has actually been something that's helped me convince some other research developers that this is a format that can be really beneficial for us. So, for example, I quite like using the narrative CV in a similar way to the way that we use the, you know, the Vitae research development framework as a development framework, as a way to understand what's going on in your track record and to think about where there's gaps are or where there's areas for development are.

It certainly is. I mean, one of the reasons we brought in the alternative uses group was to think about how these could be used more widely and how we could make them more natural in their approach. I certainly think as a career development tool, it's fantastic. It gives somebody an opportunity to really step back and reflect on everything they've done and potentially identify where they may need to do some development. So you can feed that in then to an ongoing career development plan. The other thing you can use them for is any other type of application using the format of how you did it, why you did it and what the outcome was is, as we know, fundamental to any application you're making.

Absolutely. And it's interesting actually, because this morning I went onto the UKRI website just to have a little bit of a read and try and remind myself exactly how they defined the reasons for the reasons for implementing their version, the R4, Rihanna. And what I found really interesting is that they on their website, describe it as a combination of a CV and a cover letter, which I actually think is quite accurate, to be fair, in some ways, and I think is quite a useful way of thinking about what it brings. And in that respect, actually, when I talk to people about how to write a Narrative CV, it's very much the same advice that I give them when it comes to writing a cover letter or writing a job application. A lot of those skills, particularly the ability to bring out a narrative, to weave a story about what you've done and to back it up with with evidence, that's stuff that most researchers already have experience of. So really, the narrative CV is in some ways not as much of a revolutionary change as people might think, at first, at least in the way that it's being written.

Yeah, I have to agree. I think There are definitely more ways we can use it. My own experience of using it for recruitment was not terrible, it was different. And as I've already said, there were some positives. I just don't think think as a sector yet. We are at the point where these are going to be rolled out, certainly not at Leeds in our recruitment, but there are definitely elements of it that you will find now creeping into recruitment practices, you know, thinking about that more reflective approach. And whilst we haven't used the narrative CV in its entirety in a lot of our recruitment, we are using those questions, those boxes, as part of the identifying criteria.

So in that way it's starting to feel like narrative CVs, if they're not becoming fully used and embedded, the approach and the ethos behind them is becoming embedded a little bit further in research culture.

Absolutely, yes. We're definitely seeing more of a drive to use them across research culture. I know other institutions are running their own pilot studies around whether or not they could be used more openly in recruitment or whether there are elements that can be used. So, for example, of what we did in the Guide for Sharing interview questions used the same approach. It was helping people to think about how they might evidence those answers using the narrative CV format.

And speaking of studies, I think one of the things I've been really interested in is the narrative. We talk a lot about narrative CVs and they've been implemented quite widely, but there's actually not a huge amount of research into how effective they are. This is starting to change. There have been a few studies over the last couple of months that have come out that have had interesting things to say, but one of the things I think that they've highlighted is some of the challenges around the narrative CVs. So from your perspective, what would you say are the key challenges?

Oh, blimey, we'll be here for ages. I think obviously they were brought in to be a positive influencer, but we know that whenever you bring something in, there are always going to be unintended challenges. And I think probably the best biggest one is the style of which you write. So it's very narrative, it's very reflective. That instantly becomes an additional barrier if, for example, English isn't your first language. I think one of the other issues we have is when we start Talking about Team CVs, and again, we could be here for ages.

And if I'm very honest, I mean, I really agree with the ethos behind the Narrative CV and I think they could potentially have a big influence on, you know, shaping how we think about what we class as excellence in academic research. That said, I think one of the major issues for me is team cvs, because there are extremes. So, for example, if you're applying for a UKRI or one of the UK research councils, one of their grants, you get exactly the same word length for your Narrative CV, whether it's one person or seven people on a team. Whereas the Wellcome Trust asks each individual member of any team to submit a Narrative CV. You either have the problem that you're trying to cram a lot of people into very few words or you're putting a lot of onus on reviewers to read a huge amount of paperwork, which I'm not entirely convinced will end up happening. I'll be really interested to see where Team CVs go, whether it's something as simple as just giving them a slightly longer word count, or whether it's realized that there's a different approach approach or a different kind of narrative that needs to be built up there.

Yeah, And I think it's also, when we're talking to our researchers, they're often striving for excellence. So us saying to them, you can't be great or you can't be evidenced in every box is really quite challenging because they feel that they should be being able to evidence really good examples across all of the different areas. And that then brings in an additional challenge of, of, you know, potentially more experienced researchers overshadowing some of the contributions made by earlier career researchers. Because that, you know. So us going in saying you don't have to be great in every box or you don't have to be present in every box is actually quite an awkward conversation sometimes to have.

Yeah. And it's a difficult one to strike the balance on because the funders say you don't need to have something in every box, but having spoken to reviewers myself, they say when that box is blank, it's almost more noticeable. So I've kind of gone for an in between house kind of answer now where I say to people, look, try and have something in every box, but there's always going to be that one box you're weaker on, that you maybe only have one or two small examples, and that's fine as long as there's something in there. I think the way that UKRI's format works at the moment is very difficult for early career researchers because that final module that focuses on contributions to broader society. I'm going to be honest, I don't know that many early career researchers who can convincingly argue that Wellcomble don't include that at all on their early career award because there is that understanding that early career researchers will have just not got there. So different funders are finding different ways, different funders have got their own formats. The ethos is the same, but they're all trying different things. What that does mean for researchers is it can be quite frustrating because if you're applying for two different grants, you've got to learn two different formats, you've got to try two different things.

I think it's also worth mentioning that other box that we often see and how researchers can see that as an open box to cram everything they've not been able to get in into that. And obviously there's a very specific reason that they have that box and it should only be used in specific circumstances. I just want to go back to something else that we were talking about at the beginning when we're talking about evidencing these. I think there is still a tendency for people to want to put in almost bullet points of evidence. So thinking of a copy and paste from a traditional CV into a narrative and then not really using that narrative approach. So I think a lot of where we are supporting people is why you did it, how you did it, and then the so what what happened as a result. And that obviously is, is quite a new way of evidencing these things.

I was speaking to Cat Davies, our Dean of Research Culture the other day about this actually, and she had an interesting point that sometimes calling them a narrative CV can confuse researchers and make them feel like it's not evidence based, like it's just building up a story. And I've had, I cannot tell you the number of times researchers have said to me, but couldn't I just make things up to put in the Narrative CV? Which I always find frustrating, but also quite funny because I say to them, well, have you lied in your current cv? No. You could just as easily lie in a traditional CV as you can in a Narrative CV. I personally don't see that as an issue, but I think that idea of a story or a narrative can be confusing. And so I'm personally starting to move to a point where I refer to them a little bit more as an evidence based cv because it's really hard to build up a good narrative without that evidence. The challenge for many of our researchers is getting that evidence. That can be tough. The classic example is, you know, if someone says, I've supervised six master students, my argument is always, okay, well, okay, let's think about that a little bit more.

How did you supervise them and what evidence do you have that your supervision had a positive outcome? And that is really hard to answer. So I do wonder whether narrative CVs are a chance for our researchers to think really clearly about how they evidence and how they show that they have impact beyond their research.

And that's one of the reasons that we aren't providing examples. So through the alternative uses group, we used to get asked a lot, can you provide us with examples of what a good narrative or evidence based CV looks like? And we can't because they're so individual to each person. There is a tendency, if we were to say this is what a good one looks like, people would then either try to copy that and fit their own experience to that evidence, or it may actually restrict their thinking so they don't think about everything else they've done that perhaps this person hasn't.

Absolutely, absolutely. And I think that really brings me on quite nicely to the, what I see as the kind of positives of the narrative CV, because I mean, I read a lot of narrative CVs and from my perspective you gain such a good understanding of the individual researcher and what is important to them and what they've done and what they're capable of than a traditional CV used to do. I don't know how you feel about that when you read them.

I think I'm always amazed at the range of contributions that our researchers undertake. It's no longer just about being a fantastic researcher leading a project. It's all of those other bits about developing people, the contributions that you make as a research leader to a healthy research culture.

I guess the thing as well about the narrative CV that I quite like is that there is that explicit attempt to move away from an obsession with performance metrics. And I think the narrative CV as well can be really powerful in helping researchers to contextualise what they're doing to help us understand what's going on behind the impact factor or the H index.

Absolutely agree. One of the examples I started using when I started supporting researchers with these were the narrative CV is a way to be able to evidence the contributions that you're adding to your disciplinary knowledge without that reliance on those traditional metrics. I don't quite think we're at a point yet where the metrics have completely gone away. Whether we'll get there, I don't know. But for example, you could have an article in a really highly ranked journal that isn't necessarily being read or cited by any other researchers. Or you could have an article in a mid range journal that is being used regularly, has got lots of citations. So we could argue which one do you consider to be having more impact?

Absolutely. No, I agree, I agree. So there's a lot we know about narrative CVs and both from our own practice and from our experience talking to funders and researchers, but there are, I guess, still a few things that we still do not know. So I guess for you, Emma, going forward, what are the major questions that you have about Narrative CVs?

I think it's how we're going to support our reviewers. This is not only new for the people writing them, but for the people reviewing them as well. And I don't know about you, Taryn, but I don't personally think there has been enough support for that side of the process. And that in itself can then bring in a lot of inequity. How are they being reviewed? Is there a consistent scoring mechanism? As you've said, are people actually reading them in detail? So I think there's an awful lot we could be doing or the funders could be doing to support their reviewers.

Absolutely. I completely agree. I think this is one of my key concerns going forward is how do we make sure that narrative CVs reach their full potential. And a key part of that is having reviewers who understand how to review them and understand the value of them. I mean, I have run training and development at other universities where I was bought in because people had been asked to review narrative CVs and didn't feel comfortable doing so. And I was bought in to do this development with them after they'd already reviewed for these funders. So this stuff had already been done and yet they hadn't had the training at the time, which is really concerning. We need to make sure that the funders are actually giving them the time and giving them the space to be able to do this confidently.

And I think until that happens, we're not going to see that wider rollout because we're not going to be building confidence in our research community that people are equipped to not only support others, to be able to write their narratives, but to give them that critical feedback and to be able to evaluate them properly.

I completely agree. So if someone is listening to this, either a researcher or a research developer, what resources would you point them in the direction of to learn more about the Narrative CV?

Well, I have to give a big shout out to our own. They are openly available to anyone in the sector. There are guides on how to evidence them, how to write them, actually what they are. But then there are also sector wide resources. So through the Alternative Uses group they have a bank of resources to help people think about how to use them, the wider benefits and how to roll them out. There's also a relatively new initiative, the pepcv, which is the peer exchange platform. It's available for anyone to sign up to and they will hopefully be building banks of resources to help researchers and reviewers in this area.

And as always, we'll make sure all of those resources are in the Show Notes for anyone who's interested. Emma, you and I could probably talk about this for hours, but that's all we have time for today. Emma, thank you so much for joining me to talk about all things narrative CVs. As Emma said, if you're interested in Narrative CVs and want to know more, you will find plenty of resources, advice and insight in the Show Notes. Do contact us as well, because we'd love to hear more about your own experiences with the Narrative CV. Whether you're a researcher currently writing one, a researcher developer working with researchers, or you're working at a funder and want to share your thoughts on what's going on in the background, contact us via LinkedIn or Bluesky. Again, our contact details are in the Show Notes, so until next time, goodbye.

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(Episode 106) Narrative CVs: What now? What next? - Research Culture Uncovered

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In this episode, Taryn Bell and Emma Spary return to the exciting (and sometimes contentious) world of narrative CVs, following Emma's initial introduct...

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Harnessing the Power of Collaboration: Writing Persuasive Team-Based Narrative CVs (Research Culture Uncovered, University of Leeds) [October 2023]

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Harnessing the Power of Collaboration: Writing Persuasive Team-Based Narrative CVs (Research Culture Uncovered, University of Leeds) [October 2023]

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(S6E3) Harnessing the Power of Collaboration: Writing Persuasive Team-Based Narrative CVs - Research Culture Uncovered

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Narrative CVs for teams not only highlight individual accomplishments but also demonstrate the collective strength and potential for research projects.

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Narrative CV project at University of Cambridge

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Narrative CV project at University of Cambridge

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Narrative CV | Action Research on Research Culture

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UKRI and other large funders are encouraging a move to narrative-style CVs to: Move away from quantitative measures and lists Emphasise wider contributions and creating room for complexity Reduce discipline and sector barriers an over-reliance on metrics This study is testing how the format an

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Narrative CVs: How do they change evaluation practices in peer review for grant funding? (Varga and Kaltenbrunner 2024)

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Narrative CVs: How do they change evaluation practices in peer review for grant funding? (Varga and Kaltenbrunner 2024)

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Narrative CVs: How do they change evaluation practices in peer review for grant funding? | DORA

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The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) recognizes the need to improve the ways in which the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated.

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Narrative CVs in Research: Showcasing the Value of Every Contribution (Research Culture Uncovered, University of Leeds) [October 2023]

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Narrative CVs in Research: Showcasing the Value of Every Contribution (Research Culture Uncovered, University of Leeds) [October 2023]

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(S6E2) Narrative CVs in Research: Showcasing the Value of Every Contribution - Research Culture Uncovered

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How can Narrative CVs help uncover the hidden work of researchers? And what challenges come with them?

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Sharing Your Achievements with CAR Stories (University of Leeds)

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Sharing Your Achievements with CAR Stories (University of Leeds)

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Sharing Your Achievements with "CAR" Stories

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Simply put, CAR stories are the short, punchy and effective way of talking about a challenge you have faced, the action you took to resolve the issue, and the tangible results and outcomes you achieve

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Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI): guidance

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Guidance on the flexible CV template to help you show a wide range of skills and experience when applying for UKRI funding opportunities

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Aiming to support the evaluation of individuals' varied contributions to research.

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Are Narrative CVs contributing towards shifting research culture? (Aubert Bonn et al. preprint)

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Are Narrative CVs contributing towards shifting research culture? (Aubert Bonn et al. preprint)

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F1000Research Article: Are Narrative CVs contributing towards shifting research culture? Workshop Report from the 2023 Recognition and Rewards Festival.

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Read the latest article version by Noémie Aubert Bonn, James Peter Morris, Sean Sapcariu, Karen Stroobants, at F1000Research.

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Promoting narrative CVs to improve research evaluation? A review of opinion pieces and experiments (Bordignon et al. 2023)

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Promoting narrative CVs to improve research evaluation? A review of opinion pieces and experiments (Bordignon et al. 2023)

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Promoting narrative CVs to improve research evaluation? A review of opinion pieces and experiments

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Abstract. As the academic community has become increasingly concerned about the drifts of research evaluation, mostly researchers’ evaluation, because of t

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Narrative CVs risk worsening the biases they aim to redress (Oliver 2025)

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Narrative CVs risk worsening the biases they aim to redress (Oliver 2025)

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Using Narrative CVs: Process optimization and bias mitigation (Fritch et al. 2021)

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Using Narrative CVs: Process optimization and bias mitigation (Fritch et al. 2021)

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Using Narrative CVs: Process optimization and bias mitigation | DORA

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In this report, the authors consolidate the key learnings from a workshop hosted by DORA and Funding Organisations for Gender Equality Community of Practice (FORGEN CoP) on the adoption of narrative CVs for funding organizations. The workshop took place in the Fall of 2021 with more than 120 participants from 22 countries and more than…

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Narrative CVs Demystified (Careers in Your Ears, King's College London) [May 2024]

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Narrative CVs Demystified (Careers in Your Ears, King's College London) [May 2024]

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Series 10: Ep6 Narrative CVs Demystified

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Listen to this episode from Careers in Your Ears on Spotify. "Narrative CVs are an attempt to be able to surface all of the things which academics do in a structured way." We would like to invite all researchers and their supporters, developers and enablers to build their awareness of Narrative CVs (NCV) with this podcast episode.

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Creating your Résumé for Research and Innovation, or Narrative CV (University of Leeds)

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Creating your Résumé for Research and Innovation, or Narrative CV (University of Leeds)

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Creating your Resume for Researchers or Narrative CV

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Many UK funders are adopting a new approach to the traditional applicant CV and track record for funding applications, by bringing these documents together and creating a single, inclusive format. The

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Weaving Research Leadership into Your Narrative CV (Glasgow)

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Weaving Research Leadership into Your Narrative CV (Glasgow)

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Weaving Research Leadership into your Narrative CV

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By Dr Rachel Herries, Research Culture Manager and Dr Rhoda Stefanatos, Fellowships Development Manager Narrative CVs, continue to be introduced widely, with aims to support the reform of research and researcher assessment. The underlying ambition of this format is to provide a level platform where more, work, achievements, contributions and conditions, can be made visible...

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Why researchers should consider a narrative CV

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Why researchers should consider a narrative CV

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Includes some very useful guidance on how to write your own NCV!

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Why researchers should consider a narrative CV

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The narrative CV moves away from the usual academic metrics of publications and grants and allows university researchers to tell the story of their journey and impact. This guide offers practical tips for writing one

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Narrative CV Open Resource (University of Sheffield)

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Narrative CV Open Resource (University of Sheffield)

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Information, guidance, and examples of best practice to support both research staff preparing narrative CVs and reviewers evaluating them for research grants and fellowships.

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Exploring the use of narrative CVs in the NIHR: a mixed method qualitative study (Meadmore et al. 2022)

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Exploring the use of narrative CVs in the NIHR: a mixed method qualitative study (Meadmore et al. 2022)

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Document: Exploring the use of narrative CVs in the NIHR: a mixed method qualitative study has been published by NIHR Open Research.

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Read this work by Meadmore K, at NIHR Open Research.

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Research careers – changing the narrative for CVs (Cancer Research UK 2024)

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Research careers – changing the narrative for CVs (Cancer Research UK 2024)

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Research careers – changing the narrative for CVs - Cancer Research UK - Cancer News

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Recognising diverse skills and experiences in research is becoming ever more important – but how can we do that? With a narrative CV It’s possible…

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Research integrity!

(There's nothing particularly unusual about a narrative CV and how you write one - so in theory, it's as easy to lie with other forms of CV as it is for an NCV)

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There's no one right way, but a good format for each module is:

Summary sentence which answers the question

2-3 CAR stories

(If needed) Additional sentence summarising any other relevant contributions

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'What's the balance between modules?' / 'Does each module need to be the same length?'

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'What's the balance between modules?' / 'Does each module need to be the same length?'

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You don't need to achieve a perfect balance between each module - particularly for ECRs, some modules will simply be longer than others. Don't worry too much about balance - but do try to make sure each module is well-represented.

You can leave modules blank, but reviewers tell us this is often more obvious than if you only have 1 or 2 achievements in that module.

NB: Wellcome Trust is a slight exception to this rule, because it specifies word counts for each module.

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Wherever they feel it fits best!

The NCV is marked holistically, so it's less about finding the right module, and more about building up an overall narrative of their skills and accomplishments.

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'How much 'career history' do we need to provide?'

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'How much 'career history' do we need to provide?'

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This is a tricky one - some funders have a 'career history' section before the NCV, while others (like UKRI) don't.

Plenty of people build details of their career history into the modules (particularly Module 1, which is well-suited to a more chronological approach).

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'Do I include [pre-PhD / non-academic experience / volunteering / unfinished projects]?'

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'Do I include [pre-PhD / non-academic experience / volunteering / unfinished projects]?'

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Yes - as long as it demonstrates that you have the necessary skills/experience for the funding or job at hand!

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'Do I prioritise skills or the results of a project?'

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'Do I prioritise skills or the results of a project?'

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Using the CAR format should help you to include both!

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'Do the modules need adjusting for individual grants/jobs?'

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'Do the modules need adjusting for individual grants/jobs?'

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Yes - just as we would expect for any CV, narrative or otherwise.

A strong CV is always tailored to the specific opportunity, demonstrating how you have the skills and experience for that particular position.

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'If an employer just asks for ‘a CV’, do we use the traditional or narrative CV format?'

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'If an employer just asks for ‘a CV’, do we use the traditional or narrative CV format?'

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If in doubt, always ask the employer to clarify, but I would usually assume a traditional style CV. Many employers are still not familiar with NCVs yet.

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Honestly, this is a good question, and varies by reviewer!

My advice to researchers here is to always back up what they're saying with evidence, to help convince reviewers.

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Guide for Applicants (University of Oxford)

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Guide for Applicants (University of Oxford)

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Developing a narrative CV: guidance for researchers

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Most funders will provide a template. Check to see if this is the case and, if so, use the template provided.

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A useful source of training and mentoring on NCVs

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Skip to content

The Peer Exchange Platform for Narrative-style CVs (PEP-CV) is a resource for the research and innovation community developed by a partnership between funding agencies and researchers. The goal of PEP-CV is to become a platform for everyone active in the research and innovation sector to engage in simple peer mentoring exchanges to discuss how to best present a diverse range of experiences, achievements, and career paths in all types of narrative-style CVs.

Download the whitepaper

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Skip to content The Peer Exchange Platform for Narrative-style CVs (PEP-CV) is a resource for the research and innovation community developed by a partnership between funding agencies and researchers.

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Could new ‘narrative’ CVs transform research culture? (Nature) [October 2023]

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Could new ‘narrative’ CVs transform research culture? (Nature) [October 2023]

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Could new ‘narrative’ CVs transform research culture?

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Funders are turning to a format that probes societal impact and acknowledges contributions from non-academic colleagues.

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AGCAS Researcher Matters Nov 2024 p. 5-9 focus on Narrative CVs

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AGCAS Researcher Matters Nov 2024 p. 5-9 focus on Narrative CVs

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Keeping track of all the things you do (by Stephanie Zimms)

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Keeping track of all the things you do (by Stephanie Zimms)

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Ever been asked to provide evidence of your achievements and drawn a blank? You’re not alone. When I attended a Narrative CV workshop at Cambridge University recently, this common challenge c…

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Including invaluable guidance on how to run panels!

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Future Leaders Fellows Development Network

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Narrative CV Review guidance - Future Leaders Fellows Development Network

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A resource designed for research leaders to support them to influence on topics of importance, both within their institution and across the wider research ecosystem.

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How to review narrative CVs: a guide for researcher developers and research support professionals

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How to review narrative CVs: a guide for researcher developers and research support professionals

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How to review narrative CVs:
a guide for researcher developers and research support professionals

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There’s a lot of guidance out there about how to write a narrative CV (NCV), but comparatively little advice for anyone supporting those writing NCVs. With this in mind, I’ve written this short article, providing some fairly high-level guidance on how I review narrative CVs for both funding proposal

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A guide to reviewing narrative CVs (University of Leeds)

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A guide to reviewing narrative CVs (University of Leeds)

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Welcome to this guide on reviewing narrative CVs, also known as: