In 2021, the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) implemented a structured narrative CV template as a requirement for applicants to all funding schemes granted by the organization. The motivation to implement narrative CVs in the agency was based on the pursuit of two main goals:
- Shifting towards responsible research assessment practices
- Streamlining and simplifying the organization’s application processes, as the previous lack of structure to CVs would overwhelm evaluators with unnecessarily lengthy curricula
Alongside the application and review processes, FNR asked applicants and evaluators in a survey to provide feedback to measure the acceptance, usability, and clarity of guidance for narrative CVs in grant funding. The results of the survey indicate that the change was generally well accepted by researchers and international reviewers, and the shift did not seem to negatively affect grant submissions. Importantly, the survey also identified that reviewer satisfaction with guidance was less high than that of applicants. Here, it was noted that more guidance is required for all groups involved in the process, especially for evaluators.
This resource offers funders and research institutions a concrete example of the rationale, implementation, and evaluation of an organizational policy. It shares resources with the community, including:
- The 2021 version of the FNR Narrative CV
- The feedback survey used in the process
- The raw data from the feedback collected
Ultimately, FNR’s policy seeks to standardize processes, level the playing field among applicants, and offer a way to evaluate the broader range of a researcher’s contributions to science.