A central issue in system improvement is the propagation of a common sense of purpose where individual institutions can simultaneously bond with the wider system while exercising autonomy in context--hence the centrality of networks and collaboration (Hopkins 2007). The Maltese state education system responded to this concomitant move towards 'network governance' through the introduction of school networks (legally termed 'colleges'), mandated by the policy document "For All Children to Succeed" (Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment 2005). I explore the implications of this move for the policy actors involved and the system within which this policy reception, translation and enactment unfold through a documentary analysis of the policy document FACTS, thus depicting how a relatively small state education system utilized multi-site school collaboratives to implement system-wide reform. Despite FACTS' promise of autonomy, the state's struggle for the retention of hegemony emerges very strongly--this has implications for policy and practice.