The purpose of this article is to share experience of a strategic intervention adopting a collaborative inquiry (CI) process that took place in a formal institutional setting and which evolved into a community-based inquiry. The article illustrates the CI process through a twelve-month exploration with a group of senior managers from within the UK Civil Service. The form of CI demonstrated is similar to what has become known as community based research, in that all participants collaboratively pursued the inquiry. A critical element of this collaborative inquiry is that although it started formally and did not spontaneously emerge from the inquiry community, its members shaped the inquiry, conveyed the message, acted as advocates and evaluated the outcomes of the inquiry. The impact of this inquiry is now being positively felt within the UK Civil Service as the members of the inquiry community apply their learning within their own departments.