ATER Foundation is a publicly controlled holding foundation whose founding members are the Emilia-Romagna Region and numerous provincial capitals and small and medium-sized municipalities based in the region. The Foundation performs the function of a Regional Multidisciplinary Circuit, recognized by the Ministry with the Ministerial Decree of 1 July 2014, through the programming and circulation of shows, the direct management of theatrical spaces in agreement with the Member Municipalities and the collaboration with them for the development of numerous projects and initiatives, in a logic of quality and expansion of the offer, integration and attention to the realization of economies of scale in management processes.

In collaboration with the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Foundation also carries out the activity of the Entertainment Observatory, creating and / or participating in study, research and data collection and processing activities. The substantial objectives, which inspire the Foundation's cultural policy, are to constantly increase the quality and multidisciplinary nature of the proposals; support operators and foster emerging creativity; establish and maintain a strong link with the territories, operating in a network logic; to assume theatrical places as centers of cultural production rooted in the communities; promote the regional entertainment system abroad to spread knowledge and increase the opportunities for collaboration at an international level.