Developing a team narrative CV

Why did you need to develop a team narrative CV? We were applying for an MRC Research grant.

What did you think of the new format? I liked the principle but was wary of the practicalities – particularly of trying to fit all the information from a team into the word count. At the time, there was no specific guidance from MRC to follow.

How did you go about it? I brainstormed with my co-lead to think about what each of us brought to the proposal, then we each worked up different sections – directing specific questions to other members of the team as we needed to.

How did it go? It was a challenge fitting everything into the word count (which is the same as for an individual CV); and trying to find the balance of reflecting our senior collaborators’ more extensive experience, with profiling what we could bring to the proposal as relatively less experienced Principal Investigators. We weren’t sure whether we needed to mention all applicants equally in all four of the sections or how many words to devote to leads relative to co-investigators. Overall, it took a lot of time.

What help did you get? The Oxford University guidance was useful. And professional colleagues offered to review and give feedback – but, unfortunately, we hadn’t left time for this.

What advice would you give to other researchers?

• Start early – it’ll take more time than you think. And treat it is as part of the application rather than an add-on. Each narrative CV has to be written from the ground up for a specific application – so use it to really help develop your thinking and your approach, and demonstrate why you’re the best team for the job.
• Leave time for review. Get other researchers or professional colleagues to give you feedback.
• And use the guidance. Oxford’s guidance is a great start – the webinar recording and written guidance take you through all the sections of the CV format. UKRI has broad guidance that covers all their funding areas.

Anything else? It’s really a very different process to developing a traditional CV – and much harder than just pulling individual CVs into one document. But it does give you an opportunity to reflect on how you will work together, what skills and experience you need in the team, and to bring that in if you haven’t already got this.

Final thoughts? As I said, the principle is good – but there are challenges and the new format is a learning experience for everyone. Try to speak with colleagues who have gone through the process so we can learn collectively.

Dr Nicholas Provine is a Career Development Fellow, Pandemic Sciences Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine

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