Find&Fund: Revolutionizing Research Funding Discovery

Live production platform serving researchers worldwide - Find&Fund bridges the gap between researchers and funding opportunities through intelligent matching and personalized recommendations.

🎯 Project Overview

I am currently working to build a website which pairs the right researchers with the right funding opportunities. The platform features a sophisticated recommendation system that analyzes researcher profiles, publication history, and research interests to suggest the most relevant grants and funding sources.

🚀 Key Features

Intelligent Matching System

Two-Tower Recommendation Architecture: Advanced ML model that learns researcher preferences and grant characteristics
Multi-Modal Analysis: Processes text, metadata, and research history for comprehensive matching
Real-time Updates: Continuously updated database of funding opportunities

Data Integration

OpenAlex Integration: Access to comprehensive academic publication database
Grants.gov API: Real-time federal funding opportunities
EXA Search: Enhanced semantic search capabilities for research discovery

User Experience

Personalized Dashboard: Tailored recommendations based on research profile
Smart Filtering: Advanced filters for funding amount, deadline, eligibility
Application Tracking: Monitor application status and deadlines

Researcher Tower: Encodes researcher profiles, publications, and interests
Grant Tower: Processes grant descriptions, requirements, and historical data
Similarity Matching: Computes compatibility scores between researchers and opportunities

Semantic Search Enhancement

Integration with EXA provides:

Natural language query processing
Contextual understanding of research domains
Cross-disciplinary opportunity discovery

📊 Current Progress

✅ Backend Architecture: Core recommendation system implemented
✅ Data Pipeline: OpenAlex and Grants.gov integration complete
✅ MVP Frontend: Basic user interface and dashboard
🔄 ML Model Training: Optimizing recommendation accuracy
🔄 User Testing: Gathering feedback from research community
⏳ Advanced Features: Grant application assistance tools

🎯 Impact Goals

For Researchers

Reduce Discovery Time: From weeks to minutes finding relevant funding
Increase Success Rate: Better matching leads to higher application success
Expand Opportunities: Discover cross-disciplinary funding sources

For Funding Organizations

Better Applications: Researchers find more relevant opportunities
Increased Diversity: Reach underrepresented research communities
Data Insights: Understanding of funding landscape trends

🔬 Research Applications

The platform serves diverse research domains:

STEM Research: NSF, NIH, DOE funding opportunities
Social Sciences: NEH, NEA, foundation grants
Interdisciplinary: Cross-cutting initiatives and collaborative funding
Early Career: Specialized opportunities for emerging researchers

📈 Future Roadmap

Phase 1: Enhanced Recommendations (Q1 2025)

Advanced ML model deployment
Collaborative filtering integration
Real-time preference learning

Phase 2: Application Assistance (Q2 2025)

AI-powered proposal writing assistance
Budget planning tools
Compliance checking automation

Phase 3: Community Features (Q3 2025)

Researcher collaboration matching
Grant application peer review
Success story sharing platform

🤝 Collaboration Opportunities

Find&Fund is actively seeking:

Research Institution Partnerships: Beta testing and feedback
Funding Organization Collaboration: Direct API integrations
Academic Advisors: Domain expertise and validation
Investment Partners: Scaling and sustainability planning

📞 Get Involved

Interested in the future of research funding discovery?

Try the Beta: findandfund.vercel.app
Contribute: Check out the GitHub repository
Connect: Reach out for collaboration opportunities

Find&Fund represents the intersection of AI, research, and social impact - making the funding discovery process more equitable and efficient for researchers worldwide.

Find&Fund