How to Use Horizon Europe Personnel Costs Dashboard for Budget Validation

The Horizon Europe personnel costs dashboard is a data visualization tool that displays historical personnel cost distributions to help you validate budget estimates in lump sum proposals. This benchmarking system analyzes six years of financial reports from completed EU projects, showing monthly personnel costs across countries and staff categories to support reasonable budget planning and evaluation consistency.

Project coordinators use this dashboard to verify that their personnel cost estimates align with established patterns from similar funded projects. When your proposed costs fall within typical ranges, you need minimal additional justification. However, costs exceeding the 90th percentile require detailed explanations of institutional rates, specialized expertise premiums, or unique project circumstances that justify higher personnel budgets.

The dashboard serves two primary audiences: applicants preparing lump sum budgets who need validation data, and evaluators assessing proposal reasonableness during review panels. Both the general Horizon Europe dashboard and the specialized ERC Advanced Grant version use the same underlying methodology while targeting different funding scheme requirements and cost expectations.

What does the personnel costs dashboard actually show you?

The dashboard displays monthly personnel cost distributions using histogram visualizations with EUR 500 bins, allowing you to see cost ranges rather than single values. You can filter data by country and staff category to match your specific project circumstances, with the system excluding extreme outliers below the 10th percentile and above the 90th percentile to focus on realistic cost expectations.

The tool shows data from six main personnel categories aligned with Horizon Europe standard classifications: employees (A.1), owners or partners (A.2), persons under direct contract (A.3), seconded personnel (A.4), SME owners working without salary (A.5), and voluntary unpaid workers (A.6). Each category reflects different employment relationships and cost calculation methods you encounter in consortium management.

The dashboard calculates benchmarks by analyzing financial reports from completed projects over a rolling six-year period. For each participant, the system divides total reported personnel costs by total staff effort in person-months, creating standardized cost-per-month figures across different project types and geographic regions. This methodology ensures you see realistic cost expectations based on actual project implementation rather than theoretical estimates.

How do you access and navigate the dashboard effectively?

You access the general dashboard through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal under the Horizon Europe programme section. The ERC-specific dashboard requires separate access through ERC webpages for Advanced Grant applications using lump sum funding. Both versions maintain the same interface design but display different underlying datasets.

When you open the dashboard, start by selecting your target country from the dropdown menu to see cost distributions specific to your project location. The system displays separate visualizations for each staff category, so you need to review each relevant personnel type individually. The histogram shows cost frequency distributions, with higher bars indicating more common cost ranges in that specific context.

Many coordinators find it helpful to screenshot relevant dashboard sections during proposal preparation for later reference during budget justification writing. The dashboard displays the latest data refresh date prominently, ensuring you work with current information throughout your proposal development process.

Which projects and data sources feed into these benchmarks?

The dashboard incorporates data from all Horizon Europe projects using actual cost reporting, specifically excluding lump sum projects and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions to avoid circular benchmarking. This approach ensures that the historical data reflects real implementation costs rather than pre-estimated lump sum amounts, providing more accurate validation for your budget planning.

Geographic coverage includes all EU member states plus associated countries participating in Horizon Europe, with country-specific filtering allowing regional cost comparisons. The temporal scope spans six years prior to each call year, with data remaining static from call opening through evaluation completion to ensure consistency across all competing proposals.

For the general dashboard, data sources include Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) across all Horizon Europe clusters. The ERC dashboard draws primarily from Advanced Grant reports for Principal Investigator data while incorporating all ERC schemes for other staff categories, creating more targeted benchmarks for frontier research contexts where costs typically exceed standard project norms.

How should you interpret dashboard data for budget planning?

Use dashboard data as a benchmarking reference rather than a budgeting template, since your personnel estimates must reflect institutional accounting practices and actual employment costs. The dashboard helps identify when proposed costs significantly deviate from historical patterns, signaling where you need additional budget justification in proposal submissions.

When your calculated personnel costs fall within the typical range shown in the dashboard (between the 10th and 90th percentiles), evaluators generally require minimal additional explanation. This positioning indicates alignment with established cost patterns from similar projects and reduces evaluation risk for budget-related concerns during panel review.

However, costs approaching or exceeding the 90th percentile threshold demand substantial justification including institutional salary scales, local cost-of-living data, specialized expertise requirements, or unique project circumstances. In practice, many coordinators find that exceeding dashboard norms by more than 20% requires comprehensive documentation to support evaluation panel acceptance.

What are the key differences between general and ERC dashboards?

The general Horizon Europe dashboard covers most programme areas while excluding ERC and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, focusing on standard collaborative research project costs typical in multi-partner consortia. The ERC dashboard specifically targets Advanced Grant applications where single-beneficiary projects often involve higher personnel costs for world-class researchers and specialized research infrastructure.

Data composition differs significantly between the two systems. The general dashboard incorporates broad project portfolio data across Research and Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions, and Coordination and Support Actions throughout all Horizon Europe clusters. The ERC dashboard uses Advanced Grant-specific data for Principal Investigator costs while drawing from all ERC schemes for other personnel categories.

Evaluation contexts also vary substantially between the dashboards. The general dashboard supports standard lump sum evaluations where cost efficiency and competitiveness receive significant attention. The ERC dashboard recognizes that Advanced Grant evaluations prioritize scientific excellence and innovation potential, where higher personnel costs may be justified for breakthrough research that requires premium talent and resources.

How do evaluators use dashboard data during proposal assessment?

Evaluation panels reference dashboard data to assess whether your proposed personnel budgets appear realistic and proportionate to project requirements. Evaluators use the tool to identify proposals with unusually high or low personnel costs compared to historical patterns, focusing detailed scrutiny on cases requiring additional review attention.

During panel discussions, experts cite dashboard comparisons to support their scoring decisions and recommendations. When your proposal includes personnel costs above typical ranges, evaluators verify whether you provided adequate justification for higher rates, such as specialized expertise requirements, high-cost locations, or unique project demands necessitating premium compensation levels.

The dashboard promotes evaluation consistency across different panels by providing standardized, data-driven benchmarks rather than subjective cost assessments. This systematic approach helps ensure fair treatment across all lump sum proposals within the same funding scheme, reducing potential bias from individual evaluator experiences or expectations.

What limitations should you consider when using dashboard data?

Dashboard data represents historical costs that may not fully capture current market conditions, inflation trends, or evolving salary expectations in rapidly changing research fields. The six-year data window includes personnel costs from significantly different economic periods, particularly relevant given recent inflation pressures affecting salary competitiveness across Europe.

Geographic aggregation within countries masks significant regional variations, especially in large countries with diverse economic centers. Personnel costs in capital cities or major research hubs typically exceed national averages, but the dashboard may not adequately reflect these local nuances for precise benchmarking in high-cost locations.

The exclusion of extreme outliers means the dashboard may not represent legitimate high-end positions or specialized roles commanding premium salaries. If you work with Nobel laureates, industry leaders, or highly specialized technical experts, your justified personnel costs might fall outside dashboard ranges despite being entirely reasonable for specific circumstances.

What practical strategies optimize dashboard use for coordinators?

Integrate dashboard consultation into your standard proposal workflow during early budget planning phases rather than final validation steps. This proactive approach provides sufficient time to adjust staffing plans, seek alternative funding sources for high-cost positions, or develop compelling justifications before submission deadlines approach.

When consortium partners report personnel costs significantly above dashboard norms, request detailed justifications including institutional salary scales, local cost-of-living documentation, and specific expertise premiums. Under Horizon Europe regulations, you must ensure all personnel costs follow standardized calculation methods while accounting for legitimate institutional variations.

Maintain dashboard screenshots and analysis notes as proposal documentation, particularly for audit preparation. If your project undergoes financial review, contemporary dashboard comparisons demonstrate due diligence in budget preparation and provide objective support for personnel cost decisions to auditors unfamiliar with specific research field requirements.

Monitor dashboard updates throughout multi-annual project implementation to identify emerging cost trends affecting future reporting periods or amendment requests. The European Commission updates dashboard data regularly to reflect current market conditions, allowing proactive budget management through contingency planning or strategic work redistribution before implementation problems arise.

Use dashboard insights to support strategic consortium composition by identifying cost-effective partnership opportunities across European regions. You can discover countries offering excellent research capabilities at competitive personnel cost levels, potentially improving proposal competitiveness through enhanced cost-benefit ratios while maintaining scientific excellence standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find the Horizon Europe personnel costs dashboard?

Access the general dashboard through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal under Horizon Europe programme tools. The ERC-specific dashboard is available through ERC webpages for Advanced Grant lump sum applications. Both versions use the same interface but show different datasets.

How recent is the data shown in the personnel costs dashboard?

The dashboard uses rolling six-year historical data refreshed regularly, with the update date displayed prominently. Once a call opens, data remains static until evaluation completion to ensure consistency across all proposals in that competition.

Can I use dashboard figures as my actual personnel budget amounts?

No, the dashboard provides benchmarking reference only. You must calculate personnel costs using your institution's actual accounting practices and employment rates. Dashboard data helps identify when additional justification may be needed for costs exceeding typical ranges.

What should I do if my personnel costs exceed the dashboard's 90th percentile?

Provide comprehensive justification including institutional salary documentation, local cost-of-living data, specialized expertise premiums, or unique project requirements. Explain why higher rates are necessary and reasonable for your specific staff categories and project context.

Does the dashboard cover Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and other EU programmes?

No, the Horizon Europe dashboard excludes Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and lump sum projects to avoid circular benchmarking. It covers Research and Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions, and Coordination and Support Actions using actual cost reporting methods.