14. Governments should promote effective participation of all relevant segments of society, including persons belonging to minorities, when elaborating, implementing and monitoring integration policies. States should ensure that all interested members of society, including persons belonging to minorities, enjoy adequate opportunities to have an effective voice at all levels of government, especially with regard to, but not limited to, those matters directly affecting them. In particular, representatives of all interested groups should be effectively consulted when elaborating and implementing integration policies. They should also participate in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of such policies. Effective participation requires, inter alia, that minority representatives are able to exert substantial influence on the policy-development process, thereby facilitating shared ownership of the outcomes. Simply permitting formal involvement is not sufficient. Examples of means and instruments that facilitate effective participation include electoral arrangements, specialized governmental bodies, consultative mechanisms, participatory decision-making procedures and awareness-raising campaigns.45 Special efforts should be made to identify barriers to participation and ways to overcome them. 15. Policies are more effective when they are based on robust evidence and designed to work in specific circumstances. Policy development should be based on the collection of systematic and comprehensive information and its objective analysis. Data should be disaggregated according to criteria relevant for integration policy, such as ethnicity or language. All data collection and processing should fully respect the principle of self-identification and binding norms of personal data protection. As highlighted by relevant monitoring bodies,46 objective and reliable disaggregated data are essential to be able to design and implement effective policies that promote and protect the rights of persons belonging to minorities. 45 46 Commentary on Participation and Lund Recommendations. Including the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies 25