The purpose of the Hospital teaching, training and research activities national best endeavours data set (NBEDS) is to define information about teaching, training and research activities, funded by the states and territories, that are associated with Australian public hospital services. The scope of the NBEDS is establishment and Local Hospital Networklevel data on teaching, training and research activities which occur in public hospital services.

For the purposes of this NBEDS, the term 'teaching and training' refers to the activities provided by or on behalf of a public health service to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, or the development of skills. These activities must be required for an individual to:

• attain the necessary qualifications or recognised professional body registration to practice;
• acquire sufficient clinical competence upon entering the workforce; or
• undertake specialist or advanced practice

in the fields of medicine, dentistry, nursing, midwifery or allied health.

For the purposes of this NBEDS, the term 'research' refers to the activities undertaken in a public health service where the primary objective is the advancement of knowledge that ultimately aims to improve consumer and patient health outcomes and/or health system performance. The activity must be undertaken in a structured and ethical way, be formally approved by a research governance or ethics body, and have potential for application outside of the health service in which the activity is undertaken.

For activity based funding purposes, the definition of research relates to the public health service's contribution to maintain research capability, excluding the costs of research activities that are funded from a source other than the state or territory or provided in kind.

It is intended that the NBEDS will capture those activities that are unique to hospital delivery and thus activities that set public health services apart in terms of cost.