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Library Research Guides

Grant Writing Help in Engineering

This guide provides tips on writing grants for College of Engineering researchers.

Creating Your Biosketch through SciENcv

What is SciENcv and why should I use it?

SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae) is the researcher profiling system used by the US federal government. It helps you as a researcher to compile information on your expertise, employment, education, and professional accomplishments into a biosketch (biographical sketch) for grant proposals and annual reports. 

SciENcv is an approved system to create biosketches for NSF and NIH grants proposals. Starting on October 5, 2020, NSF is requiring that biosketches for grant proposals are made in SciENcv or their fillable PDF. No other formats will be accepted. 

How do I create a biosketch in SciENcv?

Any researcher can register for SciENcv. You can create multiple biosketches, for different research projects or different funding agencies. You can find much more information about how to use SciENcv on their FAQs page. The two handouts below show how to create biosketches in SciENcv for NSF and NIH grant proposals:

Linking SciENcv to ORCID and MRE

Link SciENcv to ORCID

You can link your SciENcv account to your ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) account. By linking these accounts, you can use the citations and awards from your ORCID account to create your biosketch. This short video shows how to link these accounts and how to add citations and awards from ORCID to your biosketch.  

Don't have an ORCID? ORCID is a free persistent digital identifier (essentially it's a unique numerical identifier) that can distinguish you from other researchers with similar names. Anyone can create one for free. 

You can learn more about the benefits of ORCID and how to register for one on this guide. 

Link ORCID to Michigan Research Experts (MRE)

You can also link your ORCID account to your MRE (Michigan Research Experts) account. If you link your ORCID account to your MRE account and your ORCID account to your SciENcv account, information from your MRE account can be added to your SciENcv biosketch.  

How to link your ORCID account to your MRE account: 

  1. Go to MRE; Click Edit your Michigan Experts Profile Under Useful Links (at the bottom of the page)
  2. Login in with your UM Credentials
  3. On the Menu tab, click ORCID settings (under My Account)
  4. Click the Connect to your ORCID iD button and follow the prompts to sign in to your ORCID account
  5. You will see three options next to 'I permit Michigan Research Experts to.' The top option (read from and write publication data to my ORCID account) is the suggested option because it allows information to be shared from ORCID to MRE and vice versa. 
  6. You can select which publications you'd like to be sent to ORCID in the 'Manage which publications will be sent' section. If you don't select anything in this section, all of your publications will be sent to ORCID.