Quick Guide for Research Administrators: Compliance with NIH's Adoption of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support

Key Requirements

To comply with NIH's updated policies for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support submissions, Senior/Key Personnel must:

  1. Link their ORCID iD to their eRA Commons Personal Profile.
  2. Use SciENcv to complete all required forms (digitally certified PDFs). 
    • Biographical Sketches
    • Current and Pending (Other) Support
    • NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement
  3. Include their ORCID iD in the Persistent Identifier (PID) section of SciENcv forms.

Deadline: Compliance is required for all submissions by May 25, 2025.

Step-by-Step Checklist

1. Sign up for an ORCID iD or Connect Your Existing ORCID iD to your NetID

  • Visit the NU Validate page and click on Link ORCID to create an ORCID iD or link your existing ORCID iD to your Northwestern NetID.
    • Choose an option:
      • Create a new ORCID iD
      • Connect your existing ORCID iD
    • Follow the prompts to complete the process.
  • Adjust visibility settings for records as needed. (Public visibility is recommended for most information.)

More on Sign up for an ORCID iD or Connect Your Existing ORCID iD to your NetID.

2. Request an eRA Commons Account and Link Your ORCID to eRA Commons

  • Reach out to Sponsored Research to request an eRA Commons account.
  • Log in to your eRA Commons account: eRA Commons Login.
  • Go to your Personal Profile and locate the ORCID section.
  • Click Create or Connect Your ORCID iD and authorize the connection.

More on Connecting ORCID to eRA Commons.

3. Support Faculty Compliance

See: Quick Guide for Faculty: Compliance with NIH's Adoption of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support

Encourage your faculty members to take the following steps:

A. Sign Up for or Connect ORCID to Northwestern NetID

B. Delegate Access in eRA Commons

  • Faculty should delegate appropriate access to Research Administrators (RA) in eRA Commons.
    • Log in to eRA Commons.
    • Go to Account Management and select Delegate PI Authority.
    • Assign the RA the necessary permissions to assist with managing grants and compliance.
  • More on Delegate Access in eRA Commons.

C. Delegate Access in SciENcv/MyNCBI

SciENcv is used for creating NIH and NSF biosketches and managing current and pending support documents.

  • Faculty should delegate access to RAs in SciENcv and MyNCBI:
    1. Log in to SciENcv.
    2. Go to Account Settings and select Delegate Access.
    3. Enter the RA’s email address to grant permissions.
      (Note: MyNCBI is integrated with SciENcv, so access will be delegated in both systems.)
  • More on Delegate Access in SciENcv.
    • Your delegate will receive an e-mail notifying them of access.
    • Your delegate will click a link in the e-mail to activate access.
    • If your delegate does not have a My NCBI account, they will be invited to register.

Why This Matters

  • Compliance with NIH Policy: Required for all NIH funding submissions starting May 25, 2025.
  • Streamlined Grant Management: ORCID and SciENcv integrations reduce administrative burden.
  • Improved Visibility and Credit: Ensures accurate attribution for your research and funding records.

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