Purpose – The paper presents the critical success factors that fostered effective collaborative learning and development among a cluster of UK universities seeking to benchmark their management of e-learning and related practices. Design/methodology/approach – The data is based on an observational study undertaken during the course of the benchmarking exercise. Findings – Collaboration in the context described was, overall a positive and edifying experience. Collaboration is an activity for engaging socially complex institutions: the idea if collaborative learning, in the cluster of institutions, extended from drawing e-learning experts and policy-makers into conversation, encouraging them to think about particular issues, to systematically forging infrastructures and processes to facilitate development and support change. Practical implications – Collaboration can be a complex exercise. In the experience of the cluster institutions, it was sustained because: there was clarity of purpose; the meetings were well structured; there were no prescriptive methods imposed; there was mutual respect for the various viewpoints; and, moreover, the process was facilitated by an objective critical friend who displayed sufficient knowledge of the social networks to keep the collaborative activity both vibrant and productive. Originality/value – The activity was part of a large-scale UK benchmarking activity, involving 73 post-16 institutions in the UK. Few studies on collaborative activity recognize the role of an objective champion or critical friend and will be of value to strategists and managers of e-learning