Détéa (Design-Territoire-Alternatives)

What Détéa (Design-Territoire-Alternatives) does

Détéa is a France-based collective of service designers, founded in 2009 by ENSCI-Les Ateliers graduates Damien Roffat and Adrien Demay and incubated within the worker cooperative OXALIS SCOP SA. The collective deploys a documented three-stage methodology (Immersion, Workshops, Prototyping) to design public services and territorial policies, working primarily with French municipalities, regions, and public institutions (e.g., Ville de Nantes, Mairie de Paris/DASES, Région Bretagne, Région Auvergne, SNCF) on projects such as the Médiathèque de Lezoux usage plan, RSA service-point redesign, and active-mobility shelters for Breton high schools. The portfolio is packaged into six service lines plus a short-format training program for elected officials and civil servants.

The team currently comprises three active members (Damien Roffat in Plogoff, Finistère; Romain Thévenet in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire; Gwenaëlle Leleu in Lamure-sur-Azergues, Rhône), down from a peak of six. Operating as a SCOP within OXALIS gives the collective access to a 200+ entrepreneur network supplying complementary skills (cartography, photography, environmental education) and provides economic flexibility, but also means Détéa does not own its own legal-entity revenue line — the €6M+ turnover referenced in 2015 belongs to the parent cooperative. The go-to-market is project-based and entirely dependent on professional reputation, the La 27e R\u00e9gion community of practice, and direct referrals; no proprietary technology stack, AI capability, or funded growth programme is disclosed.

Name

Détéa (Design-Territoire-Alternatives)

Legal name

Détéa (Design-Territoire-Alternatives)

Website

https://detea.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Détéa is a France-based collective of three service designers that applies a three-stage Immersion-Workshops-Prototyping methodology to design public services and territorial policies for French municipalities, regions, and public institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Policy Design Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141), Landscape Architectural Services (541320), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (925)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Public policy design
• Service design consulting
• Territorial development services
• Participatory design workshops
• Government innovation consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Aix-les-Bains

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Design Services for Public Sector: Project-based design services for public policies, local development, and territorial projects targeting municipalities, regions, and public institutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Détéa is a collective of service designers that applies user-centered design methodology to public policy and territorial development projects for French municipalities, regions, departments, and public institutions. Its core offering is a three-part methodological framework — Immersion, Workshops, and Prototyping — delivered through named service engagements (Coup de pouce créatif, Exploration créative en immersion, Conception participative et prototypage, Assistance à Maîtrise d'Usage, Stratégie territoriale par l'action, Prospective illustrée) plus training in public policy design. Customers are primarily French public sector organizations.

Product overview

Détéa is a collective of service designers offering a unified portfolio of public policy design services. The core offering centers on a three-part methodological framework—Immersion, Workshops, and Prototyping—that guides public sector innovation projects. This framework is delivered through six distinct service offerings: Coup de pouce créatif (creative boost), Exploration créative en immersion (immersive creative exploration), Conception participative et prototypage (participatory design), Assistance à Maîtrise d'Usage (user assistance), Stratégie territoriale par l'action (territorial strategy), and Prospective illustrée (illustrated prospective). Training programs in public policy design complement the service portfolio, enabling collectives to build internal design capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Coup de pouce créatif (Creative Boost)
• Exploration créative en immersion (Immersive Creative Exploration)
• Conception participative et prototypage (Participatory Design and Prototyping)
• Assistance à Maîtrise d'Usage (User Mastery Assistance)
• Stratégie territoriale par l'action (Action-based Territorial Strategy)
• Prospective illustrée (Illustrated Prospective)
• Formation au design des politiques publiques (Public Policy Design Training)
• Méthodologie Design de Services Publics (Public Service Design Methodology)

Quantifiable outcome

• Médiathèque de Lezoux usage plan has circulated widely in French public library sector and remains a source of inspiration for local actors.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OXALIS SCOP SAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOXALIS SCOP SA is the cooperative structure within which Détéa is incubated. The cooperative enables a democratic and solidarity-based operation where all members are entrepreneurs, employees, and associates. The structure provides economic flexibility and access to a network of 200+ entrepreneurs with diverse complementary skills (geography/cartography/GIS, photography/aerial video, pollution prevention, ecotourism, environmental education, etc.). Headquartered at 603 boulevard Président Wilson, 73100 Aix-les-Bains.
• La 27e RégioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLa 27e Région is a Community of Practice linked to Détéa. Romain Thévenet co-founded La 27e Région in 2008 as the public innovation laboratory for French regions. Détéa has conducted multiple projects in partnership with La 27e Région including the Médiathèque de Lezoux residency and other territorial innovation initiatives.
• Cistude natureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental partner involved in the Parc des Coteaux project, collaborating on scientific inventory of fauna and flora alongside usage inventory.
• Ludovic Forest (Architect)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaboration with architect Ludovic Forest for the Quartier Métisseur project, transforming usage plans from workshops into architectural sketches for the rural third-place project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Livework: European service design consultancy with extensive public-sector practice, working with governments on service innovation. Comparable in methodology (immersion, co-creation, prototyping) and public-sector client base.
• Snook: UK-based service design agency working with government and public sector organizations on citizen-centered service design. Comparable in applying design methodology to public service delivery.
• Les Sismo: Paris-based design consultancy applying design and innovation methods to public and private sector challenges, including public services. Direct competitor in French public-policy design with comparable service offerings.
• User Studio: French service design and UX consultancy that works with public administrations and large enterprises on user-centered design, comparable to Détéa in service design specialization and French market focus.
• La 27e Région: French public innovation laboratory co-founded by Détéa's Romain Thévenet. Operates in the same public-policy design space with French régions and collectivités, sharing founders and methodology heritage with Détéa.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design and innovation firm with substantial public-sector practice. Operates broadly in design consulting with overlapping methodology but at far greater scale and geographic reach than Détéa.
• frog (part of Capgemini): Global design and engineering firm with deep public-sector practice now under Capgemini Invent. Overlaps with Détéa in applying design thinking to public services but at significantly larger scale.

Emerging players

• Dark Matter Labs: Design and technology studio focused on public-interest and civic projects, including governance and territorial transformation. Comparable in applying design to public-good and territorial challenges.
• The Young Foundation: UK-based research and innovation foundation that works with public bodies on service design and social innovation. Comparable in integrating design methodology with public policy and territorial development.
• Koa (formerly Acumen Design): European service design and innovation consultancy with public-sector practice. Comparable in applying user-centered design to public service challenges across European municipalities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/romainthevenet
• Facebookfacebook.com/dta.designterritoirealternatives
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dta-design-territoire-alternatives-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Détéa (Design-Territoire-Alternatives)