The aim of this project was to investigate whether and how consumers and community groups would like to be involved in quality improvement initiatives undertaken at the Flinders Medical Centre, to explore issues for consumers which may inhibit or enhance their participation, and to use findings of the investigation to develop a consumer participation model. A goal of the study was to enable Flinders Medical Centre to become more consumer-focused in its efforts to access and engage consumers, rather than expecting consumers to fit into the hospital's perceptions of how they should participate.