Value

Description

VALUE — Consideration Circle

What is created, exchanged, and protected in a system

Why this circle exists

Many systems reduce value to money, output, or efficiency.
This circle exists to reveal that value is always plural.

Human, social, ecological, cultural, and economic values often coexist — and conflict.

Core tension

Value creation always involves trade-offs:

• between short-term and long-term value,
• between private and collective benefit,
• between measurable and intangible value.

Ignoring these tensions leads to value destruction disguised as optimisation.

How to use this circle

Use the Value Circle to:

• map different forms of value present,
• surface what is prioritised and what is neglected,
• discuss who benefits and who bears the cost.

Do not try to resolve tensions immediately.
First, make them visible.

Relation to the STEEP canvas

Bring value tensions back to STEEP to inform design choices.
This prevents technical or economic decisions from silently overriding other forms of value.