Guidance: Completing Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending or Other Support
NSPM-33 directed federal agencies to standardize disclosure forms required for submitting a proposal. While several agencies have adopted the Common Forms, there is still some variation in agencies' requirements. Please see below for specific guidance. Where information on this page may conflict with information on a sponsor's website, guidance, or instructions in a request for proposal, the agency's guidance should be followed.
Biographical Sketch: A short, concise document highlighting an individual's professional and academic achievements, qualifications, and experiences. The form documents the individual's qualifications and experiences for a specific role in a project.
Current and Pending or Other Support: Discloses all active and pending research resources, funding, and time commitments for key personnel to federal agencies. Used to assess whether researchers have the capacity for the proposed work, preventing scientific/budgetary overlap, and identifying potential conflicts of commitment. Includes federal/non-federal grants, startup packages, in-kind support (e.g., lab space), and outside appointments.
If left uncorrected, inaccuracies or omissions in biographical sketches, Current and Pending, or Other Support documents may subject the researcher and the institution to civil or criminal penalties under the False Claims Act. Inaccuracies should be corrected immediately. To do so:
- Update the affected document in SciENcv: The Common Forms for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support must be accurate and digitally certified.
- Notify the Sponsored Programs Administration office, which will determine if the sponsor should be notified. Federal agencies may differ slightly, but in general:
- Before Submission: Simply replace the document with the corrected version.
- After Submission: The institution must notify the sponsor and upload the corrected form.
- After Award: Agencies require prompt correction of inaccurate disclosure.
- Document the correction. Keep a brief record of what was omitted, when it was discovered, when it was corrected, and who was notified.
USDA (Including NIFA)
USDA participates fully in the NSPM‑33 Common Disclosure Framework and requires the use of the Common Forms for all senior/key personnel on USDA‑funded research.
Researchers applying to the USDA, must complete a Common Form for Current and Pending (Other Support) and a Common Form for Biographical Sketch.
In the Biographical Sketch, researchers should include:
- Professional preparation (e.g., educational degrees, training)
- Academic, professional, or institutional appointments, regardless of whether those appointments are paid or unpaid, full-time, part-time, or voluntary.
🌐 Researchers must also disclose contracts associated with participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities. Researchers must disclose if they receive direct or indirect support funded by a foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment program.
⚠️ Researchers who are a party ️to a malign foreign talent recruitment program, or have been in the past ten (10) years, are ineligible to work on projects supported by USDA research and development or science and technology awards.
Requirements for Current and Pending Support Documents vary depending on the USDA agency and funding opportunity. Please refer to the request for applications for the specific proposal requirements. The document should include all current and pending research support received by, or expected to be received by, the researcher at the time of the disclosure. Include the amount, type, and source of all projects currently under consideration as well as ongoing projects.
USDA also encourages the use of ORCID iDs and other digital persistent identifiers to support accurate reporting.
See also:
National Science Foundation (NSF)
NSF requires researchers to use SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae to produce an NSF-compliant PDF version of the biographical sketch and Current and Pending Support documents to submit as part of the proposal.
Biographical Sketch:
Researchers should include:
- Professional preparation (e.g., educational degrees, training)
- Academic, professional, or institutional appointments, regardless of whether those appointments are paid or unpaid, full-time, part-time, or voluntary for a period of up to three (3) years prior to the application date.
- A list of up to five products most closely related to the proposed project that demonstrate the researcher's qualifications to carry out the project.
🌐 Researchers must also disclose contracts associated with participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities. Researchers must disclose if they receive direct or indirect support funded by a foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment program.
⚠️ Researchers who are a party ️to a malign foreign talent recruitment program are ineligible to serve as PIs or senior/key personnel on NSF-funded projects. Researchers must certify at proposal, and annually thereafter, in Research.gov or Grants.gov, that they are not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
Current and Pending Support Document
The Current and Pending Support Document should include all resources made available to you in support of and/or related to all of your research endeavors, regardless of whether there is monetary value, and regardless of whether those resources are at the institution identified for the grant. This includes, but is not limited to:
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Appointments and affiliations
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Current and pending support
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In‑kind contributions
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Foreign and domestic support
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Resources that require a time commitment
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Resources that support the researcher’s R&D efforts, even if not part of the proposed project
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
As of January 25, 2026, NIH requires researchers to use SciENcv to complete their Biographical Sketch and Biographical Sketch Supplement, and Current and Pending (Other Support) Documents.
NIH requires Biographical sketches for:
- grant applications,
- progress reports when new senior or key personnel or other significant contributors are identified, and
- support of prior approval requests for changes in senior/key personnel status and changes of recipient organization.
All senior/key personnel must use SciENcv to generate the biographical sketch and biographical sketch supplement. Two separate forms are completed but certified together in a single user interface, which produces a single PDF. The individual must link their ORCID iD to their eRA Commons profile. The file name must align with the guidance for formatting attachments.
The Biographical Sketch should include:
- Professional preparation (e.g., educational degrees, training)
- Appointments and positions, including domestic and foreign professional appointments outside of NDSU for a period of up to three (3) years from the date of submission.
- A list of up to five (5) products most closely related to the proposed project that demonstrate the researcher's qualifications to carry out the proposed project.
- Up to five (5) other significant products that highlight the researchers' contributions to science.
In addition to the Biographical Sketch, the NIH collects the following additional information via the supplement:
- Personal Statement
- Contributions to Science
- Honors
🌐 Researchers must also disclose contracts associated with participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities. Researchers must disclose if they receive direct or indirect support funded by a foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment program.
⚠️ Researchers who are a party ️to a malign foreign talent recruitment program are ineligible to serve as PIs or senior/key personnel on NIH-funded projects.
Current and Pending (Other) Support Document:
In the Current and Pending (Other) Support document, researchers must include all resources made available to them in support of, and/or related to, all of their research endeavors, regardless of monetary value or whether they are based at NDSU for the current grant. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Resources and/or financial support from all foreign and domestic entities, that are available to the researcher. This includes but is not limited to, financial support for laboratory personnel and the provision of high-value materials that are not freely available (e.g., biologics, chemicals, model systems, technology, etc.). Institutional resources, such as core facilities or shared equipment that are made broadly available, should not be included in Other Support, but rather listed under Facilities and Other Resources.
- Consulting agreements, when the PD/PI or other senior/key personnel will be conducting research as part of the consulting activities. Non-research consulting activities are not Other Support.
- In-kind contributions, e.g. office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, or employees or students supported by an outside source. If the time commitment or dollar value of the in-kind contribution is not readily ascertainable, the recipient must provide reasonable estimates.
Other support does not include training awards, prizes, or gifts. Gifts are resources provided where there is no expectation of anything (e.g. time, services, specific research activities, money, etc.) in return. An item or service given with the expectation of an associated time commitment is not a gift and is instead an in-kind contribution and must be reported as such.
Other Support information is requested for:
- All individuals designated in an application as senior/key personnel, except
- Program Directors, training faculty, and other individuals involved in the oversight of training grants
- Individuals categorized as Other Significant Contributors
- All senior/key personnel, excluding consultants, in progress reports when there has been a change in active other support, except
- Program Directors, training faculty, and other individuals involved in the oversight of training grants
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA has adopted the Common Forms for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support, which can be found at the bottom of the page of their website under Regulations, Guidance, & Forms. Forms are not available in SciENcv at this time. Each senior/key personnel is responsible for preparing, signing, and submitting a biographical sketch form as part of the proposal. There is no page limit.
The Biographical Sketch should include:
- Professional preparation (e.g., educational degrees, training)
- Academic, professional, or institutional appointments, regardless of whether those appointments are paid or unpaid, full-time, part-time, or voluntary
- A list of products most closely related to the proposed project and up to five other significant products, regardless of whether they are related to the proposed project, that demonstrate the researcher’s qualifications to carry out the project.
In the Current and Pending Support document, researchers should include all resources made available to them in support of and/or related to all their research endeavors, regardless of whether there is monetary value and regardless of whether those resources are at NDSU. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Resources and/or financial support from all foreign and domestic entities, that are available to the researcher. This includes but is not limited to, financial support for laboratory personnel and the provision of high-value materials that are not freely available (e.g., biologics, chemicals, model systems, technology, etc.). Institutional resources, such as core facilities or shared equipment that are made broadly available, should not be included in Other Support, but rather listed under Facilities and Other Resources.
- Consulting agreements, when the PD/PI or other senior/key personnel will be conducting research as part of the consulting activities. Non-research consulting activities are not Other Support.
- In-kind contributions, e.g. office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, or employees or students supported by an outside source. If the time commitment or dollar value of the in-kind contribution is not readily ascertainable, the recipient must provide reasonable estimates.
See also:
Department of Defense (DoD)
Biographical sketch requirements vary depending on the DOD agency and funding opportunity. Please refer to the individual announcement for specific proposal requirements.
- Investigators should include all paid or unpaid positions, including honorary positions, affiliated positions, joint positions, and participation in any talent recruitment programs.
Current and Pending (Other) Support Documents:
Researchers must include a list of all the current projects they are working on, any pending support they have applied to receive, including the title and objective of each of these projects, the percentage per year to be devoted to the projects, the total amount of support the researcher is receiving or will receive if other proposals are awarded, name and address of the sponsor(s), and the period of performance of other projects.
See also:
Department of Energy (DoE)
The DoE requires researchers to use SciENcv to produce a DoE-compliant PDF of the biographical sketch to submit as part of the proposal. The biographical sketch replaces the resume requirement, but Partnership Intermediary Agreements (PIAs), Prizes, Technology Investment Agreements (TIAs), and Other Transaction (OT) agreements are not required to use the biographical sketch in place of the resume requirement.
Pay special attention to the opportunity announcement, as it will specify:
- Whether a persistent identifier, such as an ORCID, is required;
- The time frame for disclosing professional appointments and positions outside of NDSU (e.g., 3 years, or 10 years);
- The limit, if any, on the number of research products and provide examples of the types of products relevant to the program solicitation.
Researchers should include:
- Professional preparation (e.g., degrees and training)
- Appointments and positions. NOTE: The program solicitation will indicate how far back (e.g., 3 or 10 years) the disclosure should be.
- A list of up to ten (10) products most closely related to the proposed project. In some program solicitations, the products may also include professional and scholarly activities related to the proposed project.
🌐 Foreign appointments and/or affiliations: Researchers must also disclose contracts associated with participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities. A researcher must disclose if they receive direct or indirect support funded by a foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment program, even if that support is provided through an intermediary.
⚠️ Researchers who are a party ️to a malign foreign talent recruitment program are ineligible to serve as PIs or senior/key personnel on DoE-funded projects.