Documents Required for Senior Personnel

NSF requires a biographical sketch for each individual identified as senior personnel. See PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.h(i) for complete coverage on the content and formatting requirements for the biographical sketch.

This 3-page document outlines an individual's education and training, their appointments and positions, and other information that helps NSF assess how well qualified the individual is to conduct the proposed activities.

What to include in your biographical sketch

Refer to PAPPG II.D.2.h(i) for the full biographical sketch requirements. A brief outline of the information you will need to include is provided below.

1. Identifying information.
2. Organization and location.
3. Professional preparation.
4. Appointments and positions.
5. Products.
6. Synergistic activities.

Senior personnel are required to certify that the information is current, accurate and complete. This includes, but is not limited to, information related to domestic and foreign appointments and positions. The certification language is included in the SciENcv template.

Additional information:

• Disclosures required in your biographical sketch
  _{This table provides helpful reference information regarding pre-award and post-award disclosure information in the biographical sketch and current and pending support proposal sections. It identifies where these disclosures must be provided in proposals and in project reports.}

How to format your biographical sketch

NSF has partnered with the National Institutes of Health to use SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae as the NSF-approved format for use in preparation of the biographical sketch section of an NSF proposal. Adoption of a single, common researcher profile system for federal grants reduces administrative burden for researchers. 

Proposers must use SciENcv to prepare their biographical sketches for proposals to NSF.

SciENcv will produce an NSF-compliant PDF version of the biographical sketch. Proposers must save this document and submit it as part of their proposal via Research.gov or Grants.gov.

• Frequently asked questions on using SciENcv

This document contains a table of an individual's collaborators, such as their advisors, co-authors and students. NSF requires the use of the Collaborators and Other Affiliations Excel Template for identifying this information. NSF uses Collaborators and Other Affiliations information during the merit review process to help manage reviewer selection. To expedite identification of potential reviewers, having a standard, searchable format for this information is essential.

NOTE: Some information requested in prior versions of the PAPPG is no longer requested. This is purposeful and we no longer require you to report this information.

What to include in your Collaborators and Other Affiliations information

Refer to PAPPG II.D.2.h(iii) for the full Collaborators and Other Affiliations information requirements. A brief outline of the information you will need to include is provided below.

1. Your name and organizational affiliation.
2. The names of anyone whose relationship to you precludes their service as a reviewer — including personal, family or business relationships — and what type of relationship you have with them.
3. Names and organizational affiliations of your Ph.D. advisor and Ph.D. thesis advisees.
4. Names and organizational affiliations of any co-authors or project collaborators in the last 48 months.
5. Names of editorial boards, editors-in-chief and co-editors you have interacted with in the last 24 months. Do not list editors or reviewers you have interacted with because of a paper submission.

Additional information:

• Frequently asked questions: Collaborators and Other Affiliations

How to format your Collaborators and Other Affiliations information

You must use NSF's Collaborators and Other Affiliations Excel Template to prepare your information. The template has been developed to be fillable, however, the content and format requirements must not be altered as this will create printing and viewing errors.

The way you upload your completed information will depend on whether you are submitting your proposal via Research.gov or Grants.gov.

• Research.gov users: This template must be saved in .xlsx format and directly uploaded into Research.gov as a Collaborators and Other Affiliations Single Copy Document. Research.gov will convert the uploaded .xlsx file to a PDF. Using the .xlsx format will enable preservation of searchable text that otherwise would be lost. It is imperative that this document be uploaded in .xlsx format only; uploading a document in any format other than .xlsx may delay the timely processing and review of your proposal.
• Grants.gov users: The collaborators and other affiliations information must be provided through use of the template and uploaded as a PDF attachment.