"The general concept of the “Research: a Passion to Play” (REPLAY) consists of offering the citizens an opportunity to meet researchers and understand the method and the passion relevant in their work, organising a wide range of activities led by researchers in 6 venues in Piedmont (Torino, Vercelli, Alessandria, Novara, Biella) as well as in the Aosta Valley, which didn't take part in the previous similar initiatives. The project intends to enhance the results obtained in the past editions, bringing researchers closer to the large public, displaying the idea of researchers as ordinary people with a very important role in the daily life. The “Passion for Research” will be the leitmotif of the 2008 edition. All activities will link research and passion to live experiments, virtuality, simulations and arts. The activities will be subject to an overall coordination and cover a broad range of topics, from natural sciences to social and economic sciences and the humanities. Researchers will be the ""stars of the night"", people actively playing with them. The involvement of the 3 universities has been considered of utmost importance, since they will allow the direct involvement of their researchers and bring the necessary scientific background of the experiments. Furthermore, the participation of a company specialised in the organisation of scientific events o-together with the involvement of a strategic communication SME, will strongly support the planning and the management of the communication campaign and event. Improvements will be brought compared to the previous Researchers’ Nights editions notably at overall organisation level and coordination of the researchers’ activities, strengthening the effectiveness of the awareness campaign and above all assess the impact of the project through a pre-inquiry campaign and interviews. The enlarged Consortium aims at going beyond regional boundaries and at developing a best practice for north-west Italy."