# 🔬 NSF Research Grant & University Lab Funding Lead Generator (`automation_studio/nsf-grant-lead-generator`) Actor

Extract newly awarded multi-million dollar US National Science Foundation (NSF) research grants. Delivers direct Principal Investigator (PI) university emails, funding amounts, institution details, directorates, and equipment procurement intelligence.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/automation\_studio/nsf-grant-lead-generator.md
- **Developed by:** [Automation Studio](https://apify.com/automation_studio) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 verified research grant & funding awards

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## 🔬 NSF Research Grant & University Lab Funding Lead Generator

Prospect newly awarded multi-million dollar federal research grants directly from the official **US National Science Foundation (NSF) Awards Database**.

Delivers verified **Lead Principal Investigator (PI) university emails**, award amounts, institution departments, and lab equipment procurement intelligence — 100% authentic public records with zero synthetic data.

***

### 💡 The Opportunity

Every week, university research labs across the United States are awarded **$500,000 to $10,000,000+** in federal research capital. The moment a grant is finalized, the Principal Investigator has an allocated budget that must be deployed for:

- **High-Value Scientific Equipment**: Mass spectrometers, confocal microscopes, gene sequencers, flow cytometers, cryostats.
- **Laboratory Consumables & Chemicals**: Reagents, cell culture media, enzymes, custom antibodies, assay kits.
- **Computing & AI Infrastructure**: GPU clusters, server racks, high-throughput storage, bioinformatics pipelines.
- **Specialized Talent**: Postdocs, laboratory directors, staff bioinformaticians, research fellows.

This Actor continuously discovers newly funded university laboratories before competitors even know the grant exists.

***

### ⚡ What This Actor Delivers

| Data Field | Description | Example |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `awardId` | Official NSF Award Unique Identifier | `2500122` |
| `awardTitle` | Research Project Title | *DMREF: Machine Learning-Enhanced Design of Biomaterials* |
| `fundsObligatedAmt` | Total Obligated Federal Grant Funding | `$2,450,000` |
| `fundingTier` | Automated Equipment Procurement Tier | `Mega-Grant ($2M+)` |
| `awardeeName` | Awardee University / Research Institution | `Harvard University` |
| `awardeeCity` & `awardeeState` | Institution City & State | `Cambridge, MA` |
| `piFullName` | Lead Principal Investigator Name | `Dr. Jennifer A Lewis` |
| `piEmail` | Direct University `.edu` Email Address | `jalewis@seas.harvard.edu` |
| `directorateName` | NSF Program Directorate | `Directorate for Engineering (ENG)` |
| `divisionName` | Specific Academic Division | `Division of Chemical & Bioengineering` |
| `startDate` & `expDate` | Grant Operational Window | `10/01/2026` to `09/30/2029` |
| `programOfficerName` | NSF Program Officer overseeing the award | `Carleitta Paige-Anderson` |
| `abstractSummary` | Concise research scope and equipment needs | Multi-paragraph summary of project objectives |
| `nsfAwardUrl` | Official NSF Award Deep Link | `https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=...` |

***

### 🎯 Target Audience

1. **Biotech & Life Science Equipment Reps**: Sales reps for Illumina, Thermo Fisher, Agilent, Bruker, Bio-Rad, Leica selling capital lab instruments.
2. **AI Hardware & Cloud Compute Partners**: Vendors selling GPU clusters, workstations, and high-performance compute to CISE/ENG labs.
3. **Chemical & Consumable Distributors**: Reagents, cell lines, custom peptides, pipettes, and safety supplies.
4. **Academic Headhunters & Recruiters**: Agencies placing senior research scientists and postdocs in well-funded labs.

***

### 🔬 Scientific Directorates

Filter grant leads by specific NSF Directorates:

- **BIO**: Biological Sciences *(Biotechnology, Genomics, Molecular Biology, Reagents, Microscopy)*
- **CISE**: Computer & Information Science & Engineering *(AI, GPUs, Server Clusters, Quantum Computing)*
- **ENG**: Engineering *(Robotics, Sensors, Advanced Materials, Nanotechnology)*
- **MPS**: Mathematical & Physical Sciences *(Physics, Chemistry, Lasers, Cryostats, Spectroscopy)*
- **GEO**: Geosciences *(Climate, Oceanographic, Atmospheric, Field Probes)*
- **TIP**: Technology, Innovation & Partnerships *(Commercial Startups, Applied Technology)*
- **EDU**: STEM Education & Workforce
- **SBE**: Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences

***

### 📊 Dual Interactive Dataset Views

- **Grant Lead Directory (`leads`)**: Focused table for sales outreach featuring PI Name, Direct Email, Institution, Grant Value, Funding Tier, and State.
- **Research & Equipment Scope (`research`)**: In-depth view featuring Project Abstract, Program Officer, Co-Investigators, and Division.

***

### 💰 Pay-Per-Event (PPE) Pricing

| Event Code | Event Title | Base Tier Price | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `apify-actor-start` | Actor Start | **$0.00001** | One-time base initiation fee per search. |
| `apify-default-dataset-item` | Enriched Research Grant Lead | **$0.001** | Per qualified grant lead with verified direct PI email, institution, and funding tier. |

*Volume discounts apply automatically across Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond subscription tiers (down to $0.0007 per lead).*

***

### 🔔 Webhook Alerts (Discord & Slack)

Supply a Discord or Slack Webhook URL to receive instant notification cards whenever a run finishes:

- Total capital funding tracked across new grants.
- Top funded university labs.
- Lead PI direct emails for immediate outreach.

# Actor input Schema

## `directorates` (type: `array`):

Select specific NSF Scientific Directorates to target. Leave empty to prospect across ALL Directorates nationwide.

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Keywords to match against grant titles, abstracts, and research scopes (e.g. 'genomics', 'quantum', 'microscopy', 'robotics', 'spectrometry'). Leave empty to match all awards.

## `minAwardAmount` (type: `integer`):

Filter out small grants below this threshold. High-value lab equipment & vendor prospecting typically targets $500,000 to $2,000,000+.

## `institutionStates` (type: `array`):

Two-letter US state postal abbreviations to filter by awardee institution location (e.g. 'MA', 'CA', 'NY', 'TX'). Leave empty for nationwide coverage.

## `startDateAfter` (type: `string`):

Optional: Only retrieve grants starting on or after this date (e.g. '01/01/2026' or '2026-01-01'). Leave empty to retrieve the most recent awards.

## `requirePiEmail` (type: `boolean`):

When enabled, only extracts research grants with a verified direct university email address for the Lead Principal Investigator.

## `maxRecords` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of qualified research grant leads to extract per run.

## `includeSummaryInDataset` (type: `boolean`):

By default (false), dataset items consist solely of clean tabular grant lead records. Turn ON to prepend an executive portfolio summary card as dataset item #1.

## `webhookUrl` (type: `string`):

Optional: Receive instant notifications with executive portfolio stats and top awarded grants.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "directorates": [
    "BIO",
    "ENG"
  ],
  "keywords": [
    "genomics",
    "microscopy"
  ],
  "minAwardAmount": 250000,
  "institutionStates": [
    "MA",
    "CA"
  ],
  "requirePiEmail": true,
  "maxRecords": 50,
  "includeSummaryInDataset": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing verified NSF research grant leads with direct Principal Investigator university emails, award amounts, and institution details

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Aggregated research capital totals, average grant size, directorate distribution, and top recipient universities

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "directorates": [
        "BIO",
        "ENG"
    ],
    "keywords": [
        "genomics",
        "microscopy"
    ],
    "institutionStates": [
        "MA",
        "CA"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("automation_studio/nsf-grant-lead-generator").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "directorates": [
        "BIO",
        "ENG",
    ],
    "keywords": [
        "genomics",
        "microscopy",
    ],
    "institutionStates": [
        "MA",
        "CA",
    ],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("automation_studio/nsf-grant-lead-generator").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "directorates": [
    "BIO",
    "ENG"
  ],
  "keywords": [
    "genomics",
    "microscopy"
  ],
  "institutionStates": [
    "MA",
    "CA"
  ]
}' |
apify call automation_studio/nsf-grant-lead-generator --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,automation_studio/nsf-grant-lead-generator"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/7MuxoW4rQyrPkTpeZ/builds/RtmKL1DEzJauo5Zzo/openapi.json