A new open resource to support researchers with writing and reviewing narrative CVs
As I have written about in a previous blog post, I have been working with the University of Sheffield, and with other UK Universities, to support their research and research-adjacent staff with preparing and writing narrative CVs.
During this time, I’ve witnessed many a researcher grapple with the task of creating a narrative CV for the first time. They wonder what this new type of CV could/should look like, how long it can be, and where key pieces of information should go.
And I’ve heard about the challenges that reviewers experience when encountering narrative CVs for the first time, in understanding their purpose and in knowing how to evaluate the narrative descriptions these CVs consist of when reviewing funding applications.
Both researchers and reviewers have said how helpful it would be to see examples of narrative CVs, to help them become more familiar with this new type of CV format and to build a clearer picture in their minds of the key elements of a narrative CV.
Unfortunately, resources of this nature are scare on the ground; a gap in provision that myself, and Claire Sykes and Professor John Flint at the University of Sheffield, were keen to address.
With this in mind, we worked together to create a new open resource for narrative CVs. This resource allows researchers to search across the four modules of the UKRI Resumé for Research and Innovation (R4Ri) narrative CV format, and to tailor their search to examples that are relevant to their discipline, field or career stage, as well as for individual or team-based CVs. We hope that by being able to see how their colleagues have described and evidenced their contributions in ways that are relevant to them, across career paths that might reflect their own, researchers will have a framework to help them to create their own or a team-based narrative CV.
What makes this resource particularly valuable is its dual focus. It helps researchers to craft narrative CVs that accurately reflect their many different achievements and it supports reviewers in evaluating these CVs fairly and consistently as well. We also hope that these openly available modules will be useful to those training or supporting researchers and reviewers on narrative CVs.
The creation of this resource would not have been possible without the support of Professor Flint, who used part of the University’s Enhancing Research Culture funding to support its development. As he explains, “I am delighted that we have launched this important new open resource, which we hope will support many colleagues across the sector in their use of narrative CVs. Our ambition is for a dynamic resource that expands and develops over time.”
In addition to this new open resource for narrative CVs, researchers and reviewers might also want to explore The Peer Exchange Platform for Narrative-style CVs (PEP-CV), which aims to provide a peer mentoring exchange where researchers can discuss how to best present a diverse range of experiences, achievements, and career paths in all types of narrative-style CVs.