IDETA

IDETA — formally the Intercommunale de développement économique des arrondissements de Tournai, d'Ath et de communes avoisinantes — is a Belgian inter-municipal development agency based in the Hainaut province of Wallonia. Created in July 1990, it operates across the arrondissements of Tournai and Ath and the neighbouring communes of Lessines, Silly and Enghien, a territory commonly branded as Wallonie picarde. Its shareholder base is public: 24 affiliated municipalities together with the Province of Hainaut, while local businesses, social partners and public and private financial institutions are also represented in its decision-making bodies. IDETA presents itself as an "Agence de Développement Territorial" whose teams include architects, urban planners, engineers, financial analysts and lawyers. Its work is organised around several historic and expanding missions: economic equipment (business parks, relay buildings, innovation and enterprise centres), economic support and guidance for SMEs, spatial planning and urbanism assistance to municipalities, tourism engineering and territorial marketing, green energy deployment, mobility strategy, and projects of general interest such as an inter-municipal crematorium and a network of crèches in activity zones. The agency describes sustainable development of Wallonie picarde as its priority, supporting job creation and added value while respecting the environment and citizen well-being. For businesses, IDETA markets serviced industrial land, equipped and modular offices, and industrial halls for SMEs, located between Lille and Brussels and close to major motorways and Scheldt port infrastructure. It also offers shared services and tailored support through the different phases of an investment or business creation project. For municipalities, it provides expertise in land-use planning, urbanism, rural development and mobility, helping to integrate heritage and tourism into the urban fabric, revitalise neighbourhoods and village centres, and develop soft mobility. Public partners can call on IDETA through an "IN HOUSE" convention that allows the intercommunale to manage the administrative and technical aspects of projects from study to completion. More recently, IDETA has extended its offer to the digital transition of public services, providing training and in-house support to local authorities and public bodies in areas such as office tools, cybersecurity, data and GDPR, artificial intelligence, digital communication and critical thinking, in collaboration with the Eurometropolitan e-Campus. The agency also participates in cross-border initiatives, including the Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen project anObleu on water-related landscapes. With a team of around sixty technicians, IDETA remains a public-interest actor whose scope has widened considerably in western Hainaut while staying tied to territorial development.

IDETA was created in July 1990 as the Intercommunale de développement économique des arrondissements de Tournai, d'Ath et de communes avoisinantes. It was established as an inter-municipal agency under Belgian public law, bringing together public shareholders — the 24 affiliated municipalities and the Province of Hainaut — while also giving representation in its decision-making bodies to local businesses, social partners and public and private financial institutions. Its original mandate was economic development in the arrondissements of Tournai and Ath and the neighbouring communes of Lessines, Silly and Enghien, a territory that would increasingly be promoted under the name Wallonie picarde. Over the following decades, IDETA's field of intervention expanded considerably in western Hainaut, always in connection with territorial development. Its activities came to be grouped into seven broad categories: economic equipment (activity zones, relay buildings, innovation and enterprise centres); economic support and guidance for SMEs in areas such as cross-border activity, sustainable management and strategy; spatial planning and urbanism, assisting municipalities with urban revitalisation and rural development projects; tourism, through engineering and tourism and territorial marketing; green energy, deploying wind and other renewable production projects and supplying infrastructure with renewable energy; mobility, covering strategy and action plans for Wallonie picarde, mobility plan monitoring, soft mobility and hiking; and projects of general interest, including the creation and management of an inter-municipal crematorium and the development of a network of crèches in activity zones. The agency describes itself as an "Agence de Développement Territorial" and its team of around sixty technicians — with an average age of 35 — is organised into four directions: general management, general means, equipment and infrastructure, and territorial valorisation. Its stated priority is the sustainable development of Wallonie picarde, supporting job creation and added value while respecting the environment and citizen well-being. Through its actions in favour of the energy transition, the territory has become a pilot area for renewable energy production. In the 2020s, IDETA extended its services to the digital transition of public services. It offers local authorities and public bodies targeted training and in-house support, from awareness-raising and digital maturity diagnostics to action plans, implementation and evaluation, in collaboration with the Eurometropolitan e-Campus. Training topics include office tools, cybersecurity, data and GDPR, artificial intelligence, digital communication and critical thinking. The agency also participates in cross-border cooperation, such as the anObleu project launched in September 2026 under Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen, which explores shared water landscapes between France and Wallonia. In September 2026 it also supported the opening of the Maison vivante du Pays des Collines in Ellezelles as assistant to the contracting authority and in mobilising public funding.

• 2026

  The anObleu cross-border project is officially launched under Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen.

• 2026

  The Maison vivante du Pays des Collines opens in Ellezelles with IDETA support.

• 1990

  IDETA is created as the Intercommunale de développement économique des arrondissements de Tournai, d'Ath et de communes avoisinantes.

Public-interest territorial development agency combining economic development, spatial planning, energy transition and public-service support for Wallonie picarde.

• Business parks and industrial land

  Serviced plots of varied sizes in business parks ideally located between Lille and Brussels, near major motorways and Scheldt port infrastructure.

• Enterprise centres and industrial halls

  Evolutive hosting solutions for young companies and SMEs, with shared services.

• IN HOUSE convention

  A framework allowing affiliated municipalities and public partners to entrust IDETA with administrative and technical management of projects from study to completion.

• Digital transition training

  Training catalogue for local authorities and public bodies covering office tools, cybersecurity, data and GDPR, AI, digital communication and critical thinking.

1. 1IDETA - Agence de Développement Territorial - Wallonie picardeideta.be
2. 2Services aux communes - Wallonie picarde | IDETAideta.be
3. 3Services aux entreprises | IDETAideta.be
4. 4Accélérez la transition numérique de vos services publics | Idetaideta.be
5. 5Ideta - Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Intercommunale de développement économique des arrondissements de Tournai, d'Ath et de communes avoisinantes - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org