Neal Stephenson's Anathem springs to mind (following is non-spoilery)

In it, there is a mathematical/scientific organization that cloisters itself from society on four time scales - single year, ten year, a century, and a millennium. Information transfer between these is strictly regulated to meta matters like fixing the plumbing, for the duration. IIRC, horizontal transfer between chapters of the organization also have limited information sharing, though less strict.