The European Commission establishes a new calculation method for staff costs in Horizon Europe

The European Commission has announced a new procedure for calculating staff costs in Horizon Europe, the European Union’s flagship research and innovation programme. The measure, which came into force on 1 May 2024, aims to simplify and standardise the process for participating organisations, offering greater transparency and efficiency in project management. Entities that request it will move from justifying their actual staff costs to applying a unit cost to their dedication to Horizon Europe and Euratom projects to be funded in the future.

Under the new model, the calculation of the daily rate will be determined by dividing the entity’s total annual staff costs by the number of full-time staff employed during the last closed year. This result will then be divided by 215 days per year. The daily rate is capped at 9,618 euros, multiplied by the relevant country-specific correction coefficient and divided by 18 days.

In addition, it will allow the daily rate calculation to be updated every two years to reflect changes in salaries and other relevant variables for each entity. However, these updates will only apply to new projects approved after the update and will not affect ongoing projects.

Interested entities may request the application of this method via the Commission’s portal, attaching an audit report supporting the calculations made.a ceiling for the daily rate of €9,618, multiplied by the relevant country-specific correction coefficient and divided by 18 days.

Model audit report

The European Commission plans to provide a model audit report to facilitate the process, but it is not yet available. For more information and to simulate the calculation of the daily rate, entities can access this page with the information.

Although its implementation is not mandatory, once the change to unit costing has been requested, it will only be possible to revert to the actual costing method on one occasion and will only affect future projects. It is also worth mentioning that the Commission may carry out audits or reviews to avoid abuses in the allocation of this type of unit costs.

This change in the method of calculating personnel costs in Horizon Europe seeks to simplify administrative processes and ensure a more efficient and transparent management of funds allocated to research and innovation in the European Union.

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