# Tools to understand your context
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There are several tools that can help you better understand what your context or value chain look like. Have a look at of the strategic management and design thinking tools listed below for this purpose, and to help identify areas for circular opportunities.

Explore the resources from Ellen MacArthur Foundation below:

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##### Understanding circular flows

In a circular economy, products no longer have a life cycle with a beginning, middle, and end. As soon as products stop being used, they are circulated back into another useful life.**
How and where products get circulated depends on various factors, so consider using this tool to better understand the available circular flows and determine where you sit in the system.

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##### Business model canvas

A common tool to map out your context is the Business Model Canvas. Consider the nine building blocks of your business or organisation, such as the resources you work with, your core audience and how you reach them, your value proposition, and your costs and revenues.

You can then use the Canvas to work out how going circular will impact these business building blocks.

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##### Stakeholder mapping

Getting a circular product or service to market requires collaboration with stakeholders. Using this Stakeholder Mapping tool, you’ll get a sense of which stakeholders you should engage with closely, and which you should simply monitor instead.

Mapping out your stakeholders’ interest versus power or influence will give you an idea of what parts of your value chain are most important.

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##### Material journey mapping

To better understand the impact your products or materials are having, and how going circular would change that, consider this more advanced tool.

By working through the journey your products or materials make during their life, you’ll be able to identify the points where they are having a negative impact that you might want to change. This could give you a better understanding about why the transition to a circular economy might benefit your organisation.

For more details about these tools and others, consider exploring the href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-design-guide/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-design-guide/overview) via the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website. It includes a comprehensive toolkit comprising of worksheets, case studies and interviews with designers, providing practical guidance for application.
