Person-months equal the months in the appointment times the percent effort: 25% of a 9-month academic-year appointment is 2.25 person-months. Enter the effort and the appointment to convert either way.
Result
3 person-months
12 months × 25% = 3 person-months
Multiply the percent of effort by the number of months in the appointment. If the appointment is part-time, multiply by its FTE too. The reverse divides instead.
The same conversion for the three standard appointments, from 5% to full time.
| Percent effort | Calendar year (12) | Academic year (9) | Summer term (3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% | 0.6 | 0.45 | 0.15 |
| 10% | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| 15% | 1.8 | 1.35 | 0.45 |
| 20% | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0.6 |
| 25% | 3 | 2.25 | 0.75 |
| 30% | 3.6 | 2.7 | 0.9 |
| 40% | 4.8 | 3.6 | 1.2 |
| 50% | 6 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
| 60% | 7.2 | 5.4 | 1.8 |
| 75% | 9 | 6.75 | 2.25 |
| 100% | 12 | 9 | 3 |
A calendar-year appointment is paid across 12 months, an academic-year appointment across 9, and a summer term covers the other 3. The same percent effort therefore gives different person-months on each base, so a proposal that mixes them should label each figure. Your institution’s sponsored-programs office decides which base applies to which person; this page does the arithmetic.
In a Horizon Europe-style work plan a person-month is a planning unit for the staff time each partner commits to a task: full-time equivalents times months. Half a full-time person for 24 months is 12 person-months. Proposals commonly plan on 220 working days a year, so 12 person-months equal 220 days and one person-month is about 18.3 working days: 3 person-months is 55 days. What is declared when reporting actual costs follows the call’s own rules, so check them.
Multiply the percent effort by the number of months in the appointment. 25% effort on a 9-month academic-year appointment is 9 × 0.25 = 2.25 person-months. For a part-time appointment, multiply by its FTE as well: 10% of a half-time, 12-month appointment is 12 × 0.5 × 0.10 = 0.6 person-months.
A person-month is the effort of one person working full time for one month, used to express how much time a PI, faculty member or staff member commits to a project. It is a measure of effort, not of pay or hours.
It depends on the appointment: 3 on a 12-month calendar year, 2.25 on a 9-month academic year and 0.75 on a 3-month summer term.
They are the three appointment bases. A calendar-year appointment has 12 months, an academic-year appointment 9 and a summer term 3. Use the base your institution pays the person on, and do not add person-months from different bases without saying which is which.
Divide the person-months by the months in the appointment (and by the FTE if part-time). 2.25 academic-year person-months divided by 9 months is 0.25, or 25% effort.
Proposal budgets commonly plan on 220 working days a year, which is 12 person-months, so one person-month is about 18.3 working days. Person-months in a proposal are a planning unit; what is declared at reporting follows the call's own rules.