Common Forms

In response to the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-33), the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and NSF developed common disclosure forms for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support sections of an application for Federal research and development grants and/or cooperative agreements.  

  • NSF, DOD & NASA currently require the use of Common Forms.
  • NIH and DOE  are scheduled to adopt Common Form use May 2025.

National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-33)

NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Reference Table

Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program MEMO

The Biographical Sketch Common Form provides instructions for the submission of a biographical sketch by each individual identified as a senior/key person on a federally funded research project. The biographical sketch is used to assess how well-qualified the individual, team, or organization is to conduct the proposed activities.

Quick Overview of Biographical Sketch Common Form.docx

Complete Biographical Sketch Common Form

The Current and Pending (Other) Support information is used to assess the capacity of any conflicts of commitment that may impact the ability of the individual to carry out the research effort as proposed. The information also helps assess any potential scientific and budgetary overlap/duplication with the project being proposed.

Quick Overview of Current & Pending Support Common Form Overview.docx

Complete Current & Pending Common Form

  1. Common Form NSF SCV Biographical Sketch 24-1 must be completed in SciENcv.
  2. Click NSF Biographical Sketch and copy the information from the current document to the newer version which will produce a pdf compliant version that can be attached to the proposal in Research.gov.
  3. Each senior/key personnel must include a BioSketch and certify.
  4. The page limitation has been removed (formerly 3-page limit) as has the Synergistic section (now uploaded as a separate attachment).
  5. NSF requires use of ORCiD for the Persistent Identifier (PID) of the senior/key personnel

                PAPPG (NSF 24-1) Biographical Sketch, Chapter II.D.2.h(i)

  1. Common Form NSF Current & Pending Support must be created in SciENcv. 
  2. Click NSF Current & Pending (Other) Support; information will automatically populate a new form
  3. NSF requires use of ORCiD for the Persistent Identifier (PID) of the senior/key personnel.
  4. A distinct submission must be provided for each proposal and active project, as well as for in- kind contributions. There is no specific page limitation for this section of the application, certain            fields have character limitations for consistency and fairness.

                PAPPG (NSF 24-1) Current and Pending (Other) Support, Chapter II.D.2.h(ii)

General Information

  1. NIH will require the use of Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) to complete Common Forms (i.e., Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support) and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement to produce digitally certified PDF(s) for use in application submission.
  2. NIH will require all Senior/Key Personnel to enter their ORCID ID into SciENcvin the Persistent Identifier (PID) section of the Common Forms.
  3. NIH will require all Senior/Key Personnel to link their ORCID ID to their eRA Commons Personal Profile.
  4. NIH currently plans to continue collecting three required agency specific data elements (i.e. Personal Statement, Contributions to Science, and Honors) to assess qualifications. These data elements will be collected separately from the Common Forms on a new NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement.

NIH Biographical Sketch

  1. NIH will no longer accept the NIH Biographical Sketch format page.
  2. NIH will require the use of the Common Form for Biographical Sketch.
  3. NIH will require the use of a new NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement to collect the “Personal Statement,” “Contributions to Science,” and “Honors” statements.

NIH Current and Pending (Other) Support

  1. NIH will no longer accept the NIH Other Support format page.
  2. NIH will require the use of the Common Form for Current and Pending (Other) Support.

The DOE will implement the use of the Common Forms in May 2025. An ORCID ID will be required.

They are currently exploring the use of SciENcv as an option as well.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has issued a Grant Information Notice sharing their implementation of the Common Disclosure form(s). 

As of  November 1, 2024, all notices of funding opportunities for assistance awards (grants/cooperative agreements) for the purpose of Research and Development (R&D) will reflect that all proposals submitted therein will require the use of the Common Disclosure form(s).

As of April 1, 2025, DOD will require the use of ORCID ID’s for all senior or key personnel listed in a proposal for an assistance award for R&D. 

Effective October 1, 2024, NASA implemented mandatory use of the Common Disclosure form(s) for Biographical Sketches/Current & Pending Support. 

Guidance was issued in the Implementation of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations which includes updates to the NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual (