# US NSF Principal Investigator Award Watch (`nexgenwatch/us-nsf-investigator-award-watch`) Actor

New NSF awards to the principal investigators you name. Sourced from the public NSF Awards API, logged-out, no key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/nexgenwatch/us-nsf-investigator-award-watch.md
- **Developed by:** [NexGen Watch](https://apify.com/nexgenwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, News
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $134.00 / 1,000 nsf award deltas

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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## US NSF Principal Investigator Award Watch

New NSF awards to the principal investigators you name.

### Source

NSF public Awards API (public, logged-out)

- https://api.nsf.gov/services/v1/awards.json

Public, logged-out only — no API key, login, cookie or CAPTCHA.

### The eight delta types

| value | fires when |
|---|---|
| `new-award` | an award appears in the window |
| `award-obligation-change` | obligated or estimated funding moves |
| `award-end-date-change` | the award start or end date moves |
| `recipient-award-win` | a new award matches `awardee_contains` |
| `small-business-award` | a new award's programme is SBIR or STTR |
| `investigator-new-award` | a new award matches `pi_contains` |
| `program-funding-momentum` | a programme's award count or obligated total moves |
| `geography-funding-shift` | a state's award count or obligated total moves |

Leave `delta_types` empty for all eight. Every delta carries `delta_kinds` naming
which ones it satisfied — one new SBIR award to a watched recipient can satisfy four.

The two rollup types need an explicit `date_from` and `date_to`. A rolling window
would report movement on every run purely because the window moved, so they are
refused without one, and the window is part of the baseline identity.

### How the window is read

The source has no sort parameter and its default order is not by date, so recency
comes from the date window, walked **day by day**. Each day is read to completion and
checked against the API's own `totalCount`; a day that comes back short is reported
as a named PARTIAL rather than left as a silent hole in the baseline.

### Pricing

| Event | Price (FREE tier) |
|---|---|
| Actor start (`apify-actor-start`) | $0.02 one-time |
| Source check (`source-check`) | $0.10 |
| **Per delta (`nsf-award-delta`)** | **$0.20** |

`source-check` ladder, GOLD-floored: **$0.10 / $0.09 / $0.08 / $0.067**. Charged once
per run after the source enumeration terminates — seed and genuine-zero runs
included. **Not** charged when the source refused the read.

The per-delta value event (`nsf-award-delta`) is the **primary** event and is priced at **$0.20 per delta** at the FREE tier. Ladder, GOLD-floored: **$0.20 / $0.18 / $0.16 / $0.134** (FREE / BRONZE / SILVER / GOLD-PLATINUM-DIAMOND). `source-check` still charges; it is no longer the headline event. Billed deltas are capped at 500 per run and any overflow is reported as a withholding rather than charged.

### Snapshot mode is a PREVIEW

`watch_mode: false` returns at most **25 records**, hard-capped in code, labeled
`output_mode: "preview"`. This actor sells change detection, not bulk export.

### Watch semantics

The first watch run stores a private baseline and emits **zero** deltas. Billed
deltas are capped at 500 per run; the overflow is a named PARTIAL withholding, never
billed, re-detected next run. When a read is truncated, `REMOVED` is suppressed.

### Terminal states

`NORMAL` · `SUCCEEDED-0: GENUINE_EMPTY` · `SUCCEEDED-0` (no change) · `PARTIAL` · `BLOCKED`.
A zero with no evidence FAILS loud rather than exiting 0 quietly.

### One delta type per Actor

This Actor watches **`investigator-new-award`** and nothing else. The other delta types in this family are separate Actors, each with its own price and its own baseline — so you pay for the feed you want and no other.

# Actor input Schema

## `date_from` (type: `string`):

Inclusive start of the award-date window. Leave blank for the last 7 days. The rollup delta types require an explicit window, because a sliding one would report movement every run purely from the window moving.

## `date_to` (type: `string`):

Inclusive end of the award-date window.

## `awardee_contains` (type: `array`):

Case-insensitive substrings matched against the recipient organisation. Drives recipient-award-win.

## `pi_contains` (type: `array`):

Case-insensitive substrings matched against the principal investigator. Drives investigator-new-award.

## `state_codes` (type: `array`):

Optional two-letter recipient state filter, e.g. CA, MA, NY.

## `program_contains` (type: `array`):

Optional substrings matched against the funding programme.

## `max_items` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on awards read across the window (bounds runtime).

## `watch_mode` (type: `boolean`):

First run seeds a private baseline and emits ZERO deltas.

## `baseline_id` (type: `string`):

Names the private baseline so several watches can run side by side.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "date_from": "07/20/2026",
  "date_to": "07/24/2026",
  "awardee_contains": [],
  "pi_contains": [],
  "state_codes": [],
  "program_contains": [],
  "max_items": 120,
  "watch_mode": true,
  "baseline_id": "default"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "date_from": "07/20/2026",
    "date_to": "07/24/2026",
    "awardee_contains": [],
    "pi_contains": [],
    "state_codes": [],
    "program_contains": [],
    "max_items": 120,
    "watch_mode": false,
    "baseline_id": "default"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("nexgenwatch/us-nsf-investigator-award-watch").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 = {
    "date_from": "07/20/2026",
    "date_to": "07/24/2026",
    "awardee_contains": [],
    "pi_contains": [],
    "state_codes": [],
    "program_contains": [],
    "max_items": 120,
    "watch_mode": False,
    "baseline_id": "default",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("nexgenwatch/us-nsf-investigator-award-watch").call(run_input=run_input)

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "date_from": "07/20/2026",
  "date_to": "07/24/2026",
  "awardee_contains": [],
  "pi_contains": [],
  "state_codes": [],
  "program_contains": [],
  "max_items": 120,
  "watch_mode": false,
  "baseline_id": "default"
}' |
apify call nexgenwatch/us-nsf-investigator-award-watch --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=nexgenwatch/us-nsf-investigator-award-watch",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/bR2NGAGm3eFRZ9WlP/builds/bvdo1vLdvvXFKxobX/openapi.json