Leading edge ICT facilitates obtaining and interoperating information within collaborative networks (CNs), providing the base to tackle more advanced challenges. The paper addresses provision of transparent federated information/knowledge within administrative CNs. We introduce a methodology and mechanisms for incremental ontology development. The paper first identifies four typical sources of information/knowledge at the organizations involved in targeted emerging CNs, including: (i) database schemas, (ii) mission statements and main application scenarios, (iii) textual communications, and (iv) governance policies. It then introduces a systematic methodology to develop their meta-data and unify them into an ontology. This methodology consists of four semi-automated steps to gradually develop and enhance an ontology for the environment. The paper describes and exemplifies these steps and their mechanisms. An example real emerging case in the field of higher education administration in China is presented to serve as the proof of concept and verification of our proposed solution approach.