The committee will collaborate quarterly with SurveyMonkey’s vice president of survey research, Jon Cohen, and other SurveyMonkey executives to provide feedback on the company’s research agenda and product roadmap. The first scheduled meeting is in October of this year.

The seven committee members are: Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California; Dick Boyce, who recently retired from running worldwide operations at TPG Capital; Diane Colasanto, public opinion research consultant; Laura Evans, VP of audience development and data science at Scripps Network Interactive; Peter D Hart, pollster and public policy expert and founder of Hart Research; Andrew Kohut, founding director of the Pew Research Center; and Mark D Smith, founding president and CEO at California HealthCare Foundation.

“The committee is set up to guide and advise the company on the development of new technologies and techniques that will define the next era of opinion research, said Cohen. “The committee will also ensure SurveyMonkey is appropriately engaged with the research community. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to partner with some of the best minds anywhere – the group’s credentials are truly impeccable.

“We’re excited to get started, and ultimately help the entire industry address critical challenges.”