Purpose Ensuring collaboration between partners involved in a collaborative innovation project is a challenge for project managers. This paper aims to highlight how taking a high-level learning approach can represent a managerial lever. In addition, it analyzes the impact of learning tensions in a partnership context. Design/methodology/approach The paper focuses on an explorative, longitudinal and in-depth analysis of the Innovative Solutions in Urban Systems project via a qualitative single-case study. The research is inductive and based on data from the field rather than a deductive application of theory. Findings Collaborative innovation projects represent a high-level learning case. Activity theory is suited to studying the dynamics of learning in collaborative innovation projects. Tensions can fertilize the front-end of collaborative innovation projects. Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may be difficult to generalize. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the conceptual framework further. Practical implications This article provides a framework for managing tensions in collaborative innovation projects. The results provide also a process to implement all criteria of sustainable development in these projects. Social implications This article highlights to what extent collaborative relations can be developed between participants through a questionnaire with social responsibility attributes. The questionnaire allows to foster participants’ trust. Originality/value This approach is original because the authors consider that situations exist that, by definition, belong to “higher-order learning”. Through a case study, they propose a framework to manage this situation.