The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is the leading organisation in the field of open and distance learning (ODL), and the only intergovernmental organisation mandated “… to create and widen access to opportunities for learning, making use of the potential offered by distance education and by the application of communication technologies to education.” The objectives and functions of the organisation include, inter alia, providing information on distance education, facilitating inter-institutional communication links, and analysing and reflecting on educational issues to implement COL’s activities more effectively. As such, COL has played a significant role in disseminating best practices in ODL, promoting innovations, and building capacities of human resources to strengthen the design, development, and delivery of quality courses and programmes in the Commonwealth. Most of the time, its resources are also used by the non-Commonwealth countries, as it adopts open licensing of its knowledge resources for facilitating more comprehensive access to these.

ODL Observatory (ODLO) intends to serve as a one-stop portal for information related to ODL around the world. Collected and curated from the web and generated in collaboration with stakeholders, the platform disseminates quality information to all. It is also a platform for connecting experts and institutions engaged in the delivery of ODL courses and programmes.