Information campaigns aim to provide would-be migrants with information about the potential risks associated with illegal migration in order to raise their awareness and ultimately (although not always explicitly) deter them from migrating through irregular channels. These campaigns have largely, but not exclusively, taken place within the framework of counter-trafficking programmes and are commonly run by or in conjunction with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
A small number of evaluations of information campaigns have been done (although only one impact evaluation), and these have found some evidence that campaigns can increase awareness of, and change attitudes towards, migration. Nevertheless, these evaluations are by their own admission limited because they have not been able to prove a link between information campaigns and actual behaviour, i.e. migration flows. It is widely accepted that there is little or no quantifiable evidence that information campaigns work as a deterrent to illegal migration. Whilst it is acknowledged that more impact assessment is needed, it is often prohibitively costly.
