This is a group I've not heard of before. I found a reference to the Observatory in the recent UK government's 'Towards a Unified e-learning Strategy' document. The Observatory provides an environmental scanning service to higher education, particularly the Association of Commonwealth Universities and Universities UK though the analysis and commentary they provide will be of interest to anyone in HE. Their monthly Breaking News commentary seems to provide some useful links in the field of e-learning. Check out their national reports section under 'Key Resources'. Loads of really useful strategic documents.