How to Start Using the Canadian Common CV for Research Funding in Canada

The Canadian Common CV (CCV) is a web-based form that gathers CV information in one common format for a network of federal, provincial, and not-for-profit research funding organizations. For NSERC, it is not a stand-alone application. It is the CV record you build once, submit to get a confirmation number, and then link to a specific application in the NSERC Research Portal. This guide covers the NSERC version of the form for researchers, plus the master's scholarship variant, using only the instructions NSERC publishes for each route. It does not advise on what to write to strengthen an application; NSERC says creating a CV is personal and subjective, and you decide which section fits each activity.

Start by treating the two accounts as separate jobs. The Research Portal and the CCV each have their own portal, and NSERC is adopting them concurrently. That separation is the source of most upload failures, because the names and email address have to line up across both systems before anything will attach. Set the matching details first, then build the record.

1. Register, log in, and set up multifactor authentication

Go to the Canadian Common CV website and follow the instructions to register and log in. Beginning in March 2025, CCV users have to use multifactor authentication to access the CCV, so expect that step on sign-in even if you have used the system before.

For the master's scholarship route, NSERC spells out the registration screens in more detail. Select English on the CCV site, click Login in the top right menu bar, and choose Register if you are a new user. Complete every mandatory field, marked with an asterisk, on the User Registration Personal Information page; your username is the email address you used during registration. Click Next, then complete the mandatory fields on the User Registration Account Information page. The first name and family name you enter there must be identical to the ones you used to create your Research Portal account, and the email you give must be the same address as your username. Click Submit, and a CCV account is created.

If you already have a CCV account, enter your username and password and click Login. Keep the matching rule in mind from the outset: to upload successfully, the first name and family name used to create the CCV site account must be identical to those used to create the Research Portal account, and the email address used to create the Research Portal account must be identical to at least one of the emails listed on the CCV site. For the master's route the email rule is tighter still, as the FAQ below explains. Consult the Help Manual on how to use the CCV before you start completing it; NSERC points readers there first for how-to questions.

2. Select the NSERC template, not the generic one

Once you are logged in, select Funding from the CV drop-down menu in the top menu bar. From the drop-down menus, select NSERC as the Funding Source and NSERC_Researcher as the CV Type, then click Load. NSERC warns against picking the generic CV: select the NSERC version, not the generic CV, to ensure you complete all the fields NSERC requires.

Information you previously entered in the generic version automatically populates any identical sections in the NSERC version. Do not trust that carry-over blindly. Review all sections to make sure you have completed the ones relevant to your application, because mandatory fields vary from one template to another. The NSERC version can be written or downloaded in either official language, and all the information from the English template appears in the French template (and vice versa) except for the bilingual fields; click Show Bilingual Fields to display those additional fields.

The master's scholarship template works the same way with different labels. Hover over CV in the top left menu bar, select Funding, then choose CGRS-Master's from the Funding source drop-down and CGRS-Master's from the CV type drop-down, and click Load. For a CGRS-Master's application you must select that template; other templates cannot be attached to it. If information from the generic template has populated identical sections, review all entries carefully, including non-mandatory fields, to confirm you have completed every section relevant to the application.

3. Complete the sections, ticking the entries you want included

Click the pencil icon (Edit) to complete or update a section. Click Add to create new entries in a section or subsection, and click Done when you have completed a section or subsection; Done saves what you entered and returns you to the list of sections. Within a section, use the Submit check box beside each entry to choose selectively which entries appear in your NSERC CV. Sections with errors, or that are incomplete, are denoted with an X, and all mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk. Click the question mark (Help) icon in the CCV for information on what a section or field needs.

Several sections carry a six-year limit. NSERC imposes that limit in certain sections, and the system validates the information that can be included back to January 1 of the first permissible year; entries exceeding the limit are indicated as an error. The End Date field is mandatory in certain sections, so enter the anticipated end date if an activity is in progress. The sections NSERC describes in detail are:

• Personal information (mandatory). Enter identification information, language skills, address, telephone number, and email address. Peer reviewers will have access to your family name, middle name, and first name, but no other personal information.
• Education (mandatory). Enter your degrees and diplomas.
• Recognitions. Enter the prizes and awards you, not your trainees, have received over the last six years, describing the recognition and its importance in the text box provided.
• User profile (mandatory). Enter keywords that best describe your area of expertise, using research specialization keywords.
• Employment (mandatory). Enter current and past academic work experience, plus non-academic work experience. If you hold an adjunct, emeritus, part-time, or non-tenure-track appointment, complete the Work Description field with the nature of the work and the time typically spent on location at the institution. For a current non-academic position, describe the research program, its relationship to the proposed research, and the organization's involvement in research and development where possible. A firm written offer not yet taken up goes in as the offered position.
• Leaves of absence or delays and their impact on research. Provide information on any leave or delay that affected research activities or dissemination of results within the last six years, such as parental leave, bereavement, illness, or extraordinary administrative duties. Give start and end dates and explain the impact clearly, especially if no formal leave was taken. For a medical leave, explain the impact on the research rather than the illness or treatment.
• Research funding history. List all sources of support held as an applicant or co-applicant, including NSERC grants and university start-up funds: support held in the past six years but now completed, support currently held, and support currently applied for and under review. Do not include unsuccessful applications. Enter all amounts in Canadian dollars, and for Portion of Funding enter the amount allocated to you personally. A Declined status in this section means an award that was offered and then declined by the applicant.
• Activities. Include activities over the last six years relevant to the application: supervisory activities, administrative activities, advisory activities, assessment and review activities, knowledge and technology translation activities, and international collaboration activities. For supervision, use only the roles of Principal Supervisor and Co-supervisor, include only highly qualified personnel whose research training was under your direct and formal supervision, and complete the Present Position and Present Organization fields so reviewers can assess training impact. Do not list journal reviews or external reviews of funding applications in the organizational review section; those belong in the application itself if relevant.
• Memberships. Enter committee and other memberships held over the last six years. Do not include thesis-committee activities.
• Contributions (mandatory). Include contributions to research over the last six years relevant to the application: presentations you gave, broadcast and text interviews, publications where you are an author or co-author, and intellectual property such as patents, licences, disclosures, registered copyrights, or trademarks. Use an asterisk in the author list to identify highly qualified personnel you supervised or co-supervised. Do not list presentations given by supervised personnel, and do not duplicate items listed under Conference Publications. To import publications, go to Utilities in the top menu bar and select Import publication from Web or Import publication from file.

For some programs, NSERC requires additional information to assess the excellence of the researcher and contributions to training highly qualified personnel; consult the program instructions for details. Before supplying personal data about people you supervised, obtain their consent: NSERC asks applicants to inform those individuals which data will be supplied and assure them it will be used solely by NSERC to assess training contributions, and consent need only be sought once every six years per individual. Retain the completed consent form, or the confirming email, and if consent cannot be obtained, withhold names or other identifying information and enter unknown where the form asks for it.

For the master's template, the same editing mechanics apply with its own section names. Click Edit to complete or update a section, Add for additional records (selecting one as the Primary Record), and Done in each section to save. When a section allows multiple records, a box appears in the Submit? column for each record; check it only for records you want on the CGRS-Master's CV. Some sections limit record counts, for example up to three records for the Address section. A green checkmark beside a section means its mandatory fields are complete, although it can also mean the section is not mandatory for that template; a red mark means mandatory fields remain. Record all degrees, diplomas, and other certifications, completed or in progress, including degrees withdrawn from and courses completed outside a degree. List work and non-work affiliations under Affiliations, and memberships in professional or scholarly associations under Other memberships. If research discipline options do not align with your field, select the closest fit and refine the profile with research specialization keywords. Review committees are asked to take special circumstances into account, such as leave, illness, disability, cultural or community responsibilities, socio-economic context, trauma and loss, family responsibilities, or a pandemic; specify dates for delays or interruptions, using approximate dates where a timeline can be given, and add explanations in the Special circumstances section of the CGRS-Master's application. If you need technical assistance, including for accessibility barriers, contact the agencies at least 48 hours in advance of the application deadline, reaching the agency whose mandate corresponds to your field of research.

4. Submit the CV and keep the confirmation number

Do not use the PIN/System Account functionality to submit your CV; NSERC does not use that functionality to validate your account. Once you have completed the NSERC version, click Submit. A confirmation number is automatically provided on screen after you agree to the consent statement. Click History in the top menu bar to view your submission history, including confirmation numbers.

For the master's template, the sequence is the same with one extra choice at the consent step: after all sections show a green checkmark, click Submit, read the consent statement, and click I Agree if you agree and are ready to submit. If you agree to have your name and CV information appear in the directories of researchers, click Ok. Submitting creates both a PDF and an XML version of the CV, and a confirmation number appears on screen. Every time you modify and submit the CV, a new confirmation number is generated, so make a note of the number for the version you wish to upload. Click History in the top left menu bar to view submission history and preview all CVs in PDF format. If you change your email address, you will need to re-submit the CV, and a new confirmation number is generated again.

5. Attach the CV to the application in the Research Portal

For the Research Portal, including Discovery Grants, log in to the Research Portal to attach the CV to the application. On the Welcome page, open your application, go to the Canadian Common CV Uploaded section, and click Attach. Enter your NSERC CCV confirmation number and click Upload; a message appears indicating the upload succeeded. In the Uploaded Canadian Common CV section, click the CV link to preview it. If you cannot preview it, or you receive an error message, verify you have the correct confirmation number, and if errors persist, contact the online services help desk.

For the master's route, return to the Research Portal Welcome page, find the intended application, and click Open to reach the Application Overview page. Under the Canadian Common CVs Attached section, click Attach, enter the CGRS-Master's confirmation number on the upload page, and click Upload. Confirm the upload on the Application Overview page, where a green checkmark indicates the CV has been uploaded, and verify the appropriate version by clicking View. Save a copy for your records with Export to PDF. During peak periods there can be a delay between upload and validation by the Research Portal, so NSERC highly recommends uploading well in advance of the application deadline. If an error appears, confirm you completed the CGRS-Master's CV type, since other templates cannot be attached.

For the NSERC online system, including Alliance grants, the route differs: from the History tab, select the PDF icon to preview the completed version, download and save a copy, and attach that copy to the Personal data form with CCV attachment (Form 100A). Without those steps, only a draft copy is included with the form.

Figures not stated in this guide

Some figures and rules are deliberately not stated in this guide, because they could not be verified on a current official NSERC page. Do not rely on any figure below unless you confirm it on the current NSERC program or CCV instruction page first. No competition deadline is stated, because deadlines vary by program and no single deadline for the CCV itself could be verified on an official instruction page; check the deadline in the program instructions for the competition you are entering. No fee is stated, because no charge for creating or submitting a CCV could be verified on an official NSERC page. No page limit for the CV record is stated, because the instructions describe sections, record limits in specific sections, and the six-year rule, but publish no overall page count. No peer-review scoring or weighting for any CV section is stated, because the pages describe what reviewers can see and what sections contain, not how sections are scored. If any of these figures is needed, verify it on the current NSERC program page before relying on it.

Related guides:

• How to Start Applying for International Scholarships Through Global Affairs Canada — the institution-led scholarship route, where a different portal and a different applicant hold the account.
• How to Start Applying for Young Canada Works Summer Jobs and Internships in Canada — a Canadian Heritage program with separate candidate and employer routes through its own portal.
• How to Start Applying for Federal Funding Through ESDC's Grants and Contributions Online Services in Canada — the ESDC grants portal, with its own organization profile and authorization steps.
• How to Start Applying for Transport Canada Grants and Contributions in Canada — another grants portal, with program-specific applicant guides and a GCMS profile.

Sources

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, How to complete NSERC's version of the Canadian Common CV — who must complete the NSERC CCV, multifactor authentication from March 2025, selecting the NSERC_Researcher template, the Submit check box and Done mechanics, the six-year limit, the detailed section instructions, consent for supervised personnel, and the confirmation-number and Research Portal upload steps.
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master's program: Instructions for completing a Canadian Common CV — registering and logging in, the identical-name and identical-email rules, selecting the CGRS-Master's template, completing and editing sections, the 48-hour technical-assistance notice, submitting for a confirmation number, and uploading with a green-checkmark confirmation.
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Research Portal – Frequently Asked Questions — the Research Portal and the CCV as two separate systems, and the CCV as a single common approach to gathering CV information for participating funding organizations.