This account of practice describes how elected representatives, politically appointed managers and career officers of the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council have adopted action learning as a way of learning how to transform their institution, an important aspect of which has been to find locally situated ways of establishing and consolidating the approach. The article provides pen portraits to illustrate what has been learned and achieved so far and in conclusion draws attention to the importance of shifting the balance of learning and challenge from a focus on individuals towards a collective effort which tackles deep rooted organisational problems.