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Narrative CV: Narrative CV

What is a Narrative CV

A narrative CV or what can sometimes be referred to as a DORA CV, gives a researcher the opportunity to present a structured written description of key achievements and contributions that reflect a broad range of skills and experiences developed. In a series of structured paragraphs, the researcher outlines a concise overview of their contributions to the generation of knowledge, research subject and society as a whole. The intended point of a narrative CV is to focus on key achievements and impact over just productivity.

*** Increasingly funders are mandating the use of “narrative CVs” ***

To eradicate overreliance on metrics and proxies as measures for excellence, a move towards a more responsible format of research evaluation is required and as such more funders now mandate the use of narrative CVs as part of the funding application process – including SFI, the IRC, HRB, ERC and UKRI.

The Narrative CV can be worth roughly 30% of the award’s assessment criteria. So it is vital to keep in mind what you can and cannot include within your narrative CV. As in many funding applications they state when and where you can use metrics and oftentimes they will stipulate that you must not include metrics in your narrative CV and including them may render your entire application ineligible for review. As such it is vital to be aware of each specific funders requirements. 
 

Traditional Metrics Based CV's

Traditional metric-driven CVs are limited in that they can fail to present a full contextualised picture of a researcher’s outputs and impact. Furthermore, traditional metrics based CV’s can unfairly disadvantage people whose career paths have followed non-standard patterns such as someone coming to a career in research later in life or those who have taken time out of academia (for parental leave, caring responsibilities, long-term illness, secondments, military service, and so on). Citations for non-english publications also tend to be lower so researchers who publish in other languages are disadvantaged by this.

Important to Note

*EXCLUSION OF METRICS*
Funders will often stipulate that they prohibit the use of publication or journal metrics in narrative CVs in their funding applications. As such it is crucial to keep this in mind and ensure you are following the funder guidelines appropriately as the inclusion of any metrics where prohibited may render your application ineligible for review. 


*IT’S YOUR STORY*
All researchers are individuals and as such have different strengths and thrive in different areas, narrative CVs present an opportunity to be more conscious of equality, diversity and inclusivity and to afford individual researchers a way to demonstrate and communicate their individual strengths and successes. 
It is important not to become intimidated by the process of writing a narrative CV if you took a career break or you came to the research profession later in life etc. as these are some of the main reasons for developing the narrative CV. It gives you the opportunity to contextualise your career to date. Some sections may be more difficult than others at certain points throughout your career but that's OK, everyone is in the same boat there and it will develop over time. With that in mind it is important to remember that reviewers will be aware of your career stage, and as such that will be reflected in your achievements and your overall narrative CV.


*TAKE INSPIRATION FROM OTHERS*
Tip: It can be useful to look at the narrative CV of some of your successfully funded colleagues and friends for inspiration, both at a similar career stage and more experienced than you. 
However it is vital that you do not just copy and paste the content from someone else's narrative CV. The whole point is that your CV should reflect your unique and individual story and how your contributions have impacted research and society.
 

How to write a Narrative CV

When writing your narrative CV it is important to think about your story as a researcher. It seems cheesy but it’s important to develop the narrative of your research journey. As such no two narrative CV’s should be the same as no two researchers will have had the same experiences and achievements. This can make it hard knowing where to start or how to structure your narrative CV as you can’t just copy someone else’s template. However there are tips you can use to follow to get you started and then you can put your own stamp on it. 

Some things to consider when writing your own narrative CV:

  • Provide a clear and concise plain language overview of your contributions to the generation of knowledge, research area and society as a whole. It is crucial to remember that oftentimes the person reviewing your application is an administrator and as such may not be familiar with discipline specific jargon so it is important to use plain language that is more accessible for people that may not be as well versed in your specific researcher area.
  • Outline your key achievements in a series of structured paragraphs. These key achievements will change over time and should change to reflect what you believe is most relevant to application. It is important to use the narrative CV as an opportunity to make your case as to why you are the best candidate for this funding or position and why you would be a safe and worthy venture to invest in. It could be highlighting significant publications and your experience working on them, presenting them, you could choose to focus on your contribution to the development of others so perhaps something you worked on where you were the more senior person and you supervised others etc. 
  • Present yourself as the ideal candidate or awardee for the grant or role you are applying for. Use examples that are most relevant to what you are applying for and try to make links as to why you would be a safe return on investment.
  • Highlight your individual strengths, the whole point of a narrative CV is to tell your story so it’s good to inject a bit of personality into your narrative CV. 

There is no universal template or structure for creating narrative CVs as no two Narrative CV’s should be the same but many loosely follow the style of the Royal Society’s Résumé for Researchers which includes:

Personal details (your education, key qualifications and relevant positions you have held).
Generation of knowledge.
Development of individuals.
Supporting broader society and the economy.
Supporting the research community.
Personal statement (your goals and motivation).
Additions (mention career breaks, secondments, volunteering and any other relevant experience including time in other sectors that might be relevant). 
 

When choosing key achievements it can be helpful to consider the following:

  • Identify the main priority of the particular funding call, school research strategy and/or research programme. For example if there is a strong focus on impact and engagement or public engagement, career progression or the development of others. Then it is important to highlight any significant and relevant achievements that reflect the aims and objectives of the institution, research programme or funding body.
  • Reflect on the full breadth of your professional research career, don't just focus on your most recent achievements. There maybe something that you achieved earlier in your career that is more relevant to a specific application.
  • Identify key achievements or experiences you have gained that paint a picture or tell a story of your career to date.
  • Emphasise your skills and strengths as a researcher which make you an attractive candidate this may include achievements and experiences from outside of your traditional research capacity. For example it may be useful to include something if you have significant relevant industry experience. It is important to include soft skills also, soft skills are vital in research and too often we take these things for granted but it must be listed on the narrative CV for you to get points for it. 
  • Think about what the reviewer is looking for and make it as easy as possible for them to give you points when evaluating applications. Spell everything important out for them clearly and concisely to aid with ensuing you’re on the list of shortlisted candidates.
  • Consider the position or funding call that you are applying for and repeat back any buzzwords that may be required from the application itself. 
  • Use active writing when listing skills such as 'developed', 'managed', 'led', 'characterised' etc.
  • Tailor each narrative CV for each application so that your achievements are as relevant as possible to the assessment criteria. It is advisable to keep one master narrative CV or indeed also to keep a master traditional CV so that you can keep a record of everything and it can be as long as you like, that way each time you go to write a narrative CV or traditional CV it will be easier to remember and to choose what you would like to include and it also helps ensure you don’t forget significant accomplishments and activities. 

Overall, your narrative CV should demonstrate that you are the best candidate to receive the funding/position or to carry out the research outlined in the proposal. Reinforcing the fact that you are a trustworthy candidate who will be a safe return on investment and will use the funding responsibly and appropriately.
 

                                          

                    Source: UK Research an Innovation

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0