SciENcv: From Setup to Submission
This page provides resources to the BU community who are looking to learn how to get the most out of SciENcv and develop an efficient workflow with related applications (MyNCBI, ORCID, MyCV, etc.).
An additional webinar from NCURA (11/12/2025) is available on this topic. A Kerberos login is required: Tips and Tools for Preparing Investigator Disclosures on Biosketches and Current & Pending Support
Prerequisites
If you do not yet have an NIH eRA Commons or ORCID account, please see the System Logins page to get access to your account prior to beginning this walkthrough. NSF users are not strictly required to have an NIH login and may use another service to log into MyNCBI (which houses SciENcv). This is covered in the section on how to log into MyNCBI on the System Logins page.
Account Setup Checklist
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Get eRA Commons account
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Get ORCID account
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Sign into eRA Commons to connect ORCID iD
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Sign into MyNCBI to connect ORCID iD
Background
National Security Presidential Memorandum-33 (NSPM-33) directs federal research agencies to require researchers to disclose information that “will enable reliable determinations of whether and where conflicts of interest and commitment exist.” This memorandum also specifies that “covered individuals” must provide disclosures via two documents: biographical sketch (“biosketch”) and a current and pending other support document (known sometimes as “C&P”, “CPS”, and “OS”). Implementation of these documents is referred to as the Common Forms.
The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. § 19232), Subtitle D Research Security. Sections 10631, 10632 and 10638 of the US Public Law 117-167 requires federal research funding agencies to establish policies that require “covered individuals” to disclose participation in foreign talent recruitment programs (FTRPs) and to certify at proposal, and annually for the duration of the award, that they are not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP), and that require Boston University to certify that such individuals have been made aware of the certification requirements and have complied. For more information on this requirement, please see Boston University’s policy on Participation in Maligned Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs.
A table entitled, NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Pre- and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support has been created by the Federal Government to provide helpful reference information regarding pre-award and post-award disclosures. The table includes the types of activities to be reported, where such activities must be reported in the application, as well as when updates are required in the application and award lifecycle. A final column identifies activities that are not required to be reported.
Implementation Via SciENcv
In order to assist users with complying with these requirements, as well as the certification of the documents, federal agencies are adopting the use of the SciENcv tool.
SciENcv was developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and is housed within the MyNCBI suite of applications and makes use of its My Bibliography tool to store its publications. MyNCBI was created by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). NIH researchers may already be familiar with MyNCBI, as it is used in the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) process for NIH awards.
While the SciENcv tool itself is easy to use, there are many nuances to consider when developing a workflow that works for individual researchers. Understanding how key decision points can change the workflow will allow users to use the system more effectively.
Because the Common Forms are not allowed to have agency specific information on them, agencies are now requiring biosketch supplements to continue to collect any additional information.
| Agencies Using SciENcv | Implementation |
|---|---|
| National Science Foundation (NSF) | Synergistic Activities must be in a separate document (no SciENcv template; see NSF Guidance on Senior Personnel documents). |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | Personal Statement, Contributions to Science, Honors will continue to be collected (SciENcv supplement form). According to an NIH FAQ, “There will be a single certification to certify both forms and a single PDF output containing both forms for application submission.” Users will find these sections at the end of the biosketch in SciENcv. Full NIH Guidance: NOT-OD-26-018: NIHs Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026 |
| Department of Energy (DOE) | No additional supplement required. Guidance issued in Financial Assistance Letter 2026-02: Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Form Usage Requirements in Financial Assistance. |
| United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | No additional supplement required. Guidance issued in USDA Secretary’s Memorandum SM 1078-014. |
NSPM-33 requirements are gradually being implemented in individual agencies and processes and requirements are subject to change. Every proposal should be reviewed for both agency guidance and solicitation guidance prior to submission. Some agencies will not have their own form implementation and will use NSF or NIH forms. In some cases Common Forms are required although not implemented in SciENcv. Carefully review sponsor guidance to understand how the forms are meant to be completed.
In cases where sponsors have not yet commented on the use of the Common Forms, researchers are advised to ask the sponsor if they will accept the NSF or NIH forms. Other federal sponsors with published guidance:
- DARPA Proposer Instructions: Grants/Cooperative Agreements
- IARPA Implementation of NSPM-33
- NASA Grants Policy and Compliance
Certification of Documents
Principal Investigators (PIs) must certify documents before they can be downloaded. SciENcv delegates are allowed to download drafts that will be watermarked. Once a file is considered to be ready to submit, the PI can certify and download the file. Once the document is certified, delegates will be able to use the download button. For more information on adding delegates, please see the guidance for setting up an account in SciENcv. Additional information on how to navigate as a delegate is found in this walkthrough.
SciENcv Walkthrough
The SciENcv tool functions like a database for a researcher’s biosketch and current and pending other support documents. Because agencies are requiring these documents to be specific to each project, this database can become large. Strategies for maintaining the database are also found in this walkthrough.
Members of the BU Community can watch the videos as a playlist by logging into My Media.
The first biosketch can take time to prepare, and it is best to have the publications workflow figured out prior to the first deadline that requires a biosketch.
Three key systems—MyNCBI My Bibliography, MyNCBI SciENcv, and ORCID—work together to streamline this process.
What Each System Does
MyNCBI My Bibliography:
- Stores publication lists, especially for use in NIH Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs).
- Best for NIH researchers.
- Connects to PubMed and supports MEDLINE/RIS imports.
MyNCBI SciENcv:
- Used to create biosketches and current and pending other support forms for federal applications (NIH, NSF, etc.).
- Replaces traditional Word templates.
- Pulls publication data from MyNCBI My Bibliography or ORCID.
ORCID:
- Provides a unique researcher ID and a digital CV.
- Data in this CV can be connected to SciENcv to assist with data entry.
- Connects with many publishers for automatic publication updates.
- Supports multiple import/export formats (e.g., BibTeX). Helpful for preparation of other documents (e.g., a co-author list for NSF applications).
- Similar to a Google Scholar profile, but supported by a non-profit and officially partnered with the federal government.
If you do not have a MyNCBI or ORCID account, please set up these accounts before continuing. Please see the System Logins page for more information, including how to add delegates and trusted users for the accounts.
Once logins are created and accounts are set up the overall process is pretty simple:
- Enter publications into system of choice (My Bibliography, ORCID)
- Log into SciENcv
- Create biosketch document
- Add publications to biosketch
- Download and certify document (if it’s your own)
You will find in-depth instructions for each step below. There are important nuances to each step depending on how you are using SciENcv, so users are encouraged to review all of the content to learn how to use the software in the way that makes sense for them and those they work with.
There are two main locations that users can use to store publications for use in SciENcv. For some users, mostly NIH applicants and awardees, the choice will be to use My Bibliography, which is part of MyNCBI. However, for non-NIH applicants and awardees, ORCID may be the choice. Features of both systems are listed below. For users who are creating a biosketch as part of a one-off application, direct entry in SciENcv may be most useful.
My Bibliography
- Available to any researcher to use
- Best for NIH researchers
- MEDLINE and RIS are only allowable data import formats
- Connects to PubMed and RPPRs
ORCID
- Available to any researcher to use
- Provides a digital CV that can port into SciENcv
- Connected to many publishers so publications can autopopulate
- Many import formats including BibTeX
- Easy to export publications for other uses (like NSF COA forms)
SciENcv
- Available to any researcher to use
- Basic publication form entry for lightweight documents
- Stored in MyNCBI’s My Bibliography
Publications will need to be maintained on an ongoing basis. Because publications are complex, management of the publications has been separated from the SciENcv walkthrough. For help on understanding this piece, please see the walkthrough on Reference Management Workflows.
This video demos how to create new documents (biosketches and current and pending other support) and delete them in SciENcv. Examples include making a document from a blank document, creating a document from another document (including cross-sponsor documents). Glitches encountered in the system are shown to help with problem-solving.
Sometimes ORCID doesn’t seem to connect properly to SciENcv. This video demos how things can go wrong and how to fix problems. Issues covered includes data not coming through from SciENcv due to permissions and bad connections.
This demo shows how to edit biographical sketch documents in SciENcv. System glitches are shown to help with problem-solving. Additional topics include:
- A basic example of adding a product via My Bibliography
- Some discussion of the changes to NIH policy due to the SciENcv adoption
- Referencing citations in the NIH Contributions to Science section.
Official documentation for SciENcv says that the software allows for Markdown formatting, but not HTML formatting. However, testing the application in 2026 suggests that this may have changed. Markdown was not supported, but HTML is. This video demos how to use this formatting. Please note: HTML characters count against the character limit for the section. However, there is no longer a formal page limit.
This video demos the certification and download process for documents in SciENcv when logged in as the PI (owner of the document). This cannot be completed by a delegate.
This demo shows how to work through the editing process as a delegate, including how to navigate to the correct profile and what the download button looks like as a delegate. For a more in depth look at the editing process or download process, please see the separate tutorials that cover these workflow steps.
This demo shows how to navigate some problems with the SciENcv application when editing current and pending other support documents. Examples include:
- Incomplete entries not appearing in a draft document
- Creating a “To Do” list in the document to help you find incomplete entries
- Incorrect data generated by SciENcv when required fields are blank
This demo shows how to make an efficient workflow for managing objectives and overlap statements in Current and Pending Other Support documents in SciENcv. Topics include:
- Glitches with adding entries in SciENcv
- Matrix approach for creating a shared document with a PI to manage the statements. Excel or Google Docs is needed to create the shared document. Use of the TRANSPOSE function is covered.
- How to use the matrix to quickly fill in a Current and Pending Other Support document