Healing Communities: PhD thesis

Overview

Title: Healing Communities. What if we collectively had the capacity to overcome any crisis in a matter of days? A method for teams of teams to: listen to each other, agree on priorities, put in commons resources, create few but essential and freely adaptable solutions.

Author: Fabio Balli

Supervisors

• Marguerite Mendell, social economy
• Warren Linds, arts-based participatory research
• Satoshi Ikeda, political sociology
• Philippe Caignon, experiential learning (chair)

Institution: Concordia University, Tiohtià:ke / Montreal, Canada

Programme: Individualised PhD in Social Science, a program "to promote innovative and creative approaches to issues that are outside the normal boundaries of investigation"

Methodology: creation-as-research, that is "the elaboration of projects where creation is required in order for research to emerge. [...] The ‘results’ produced also include the creative production that is entailed, as both a tracing-out and culminating expression of the research process. [...] Knowledge is produced as creative work, and not simply through their analysis and interpretation. It is in this sense that such creative work can be understood as a strong form of intervention, contributing to knowledge in a profoundly different way from the academic norm”.

Ethics: participatory action research ethics, that is the duty, as a privileged person, to generate value for the community.

Funding: Concordia University (C$ 67K), Quebec bursaries (33K) – see value accounting regarding project funding.

Accessibility: Many elements of research were published in open access, see below. Thesis to be published under a CC BY-SA licence in editable LaTeX format.

Thesis

• Official thesis, 259 pages
  • HEALING COMMUNITIES. What if we collectively had the capacity to overcome any crisis in a matter of days? A method for teams of teams to: listen to each other, agree on priorities, put in commons resources, create few but essential and freely adaptable solutions.
• Editable LaTeX source
  • soon
• Abstract preprint, 3 pages
  • Healing Communities. What if we collectively had the capacity to overcome any crisis in a matter of days?
  • Communautés guérissantes. Et si nous avions collectivement la capacité de surmonter n'importe quelle crise en quelques jours ?
• Visual synthesis, 1 page
  • From impoverishment to empowerment: re-creating healing narratives
• Defense presentation, 27 pages
  • PhD defence: Healing Communities. What if we collectively had the capacity to overcome any crisis in a matter of days?
• Video presentation, 3 minutes
  • How an Individualized PhD provided me with the resources to imagine a future where all humans could live decently, and rally people across territories to generate $2 million collective value? (open archive)

Structure of the thesis

Part	Chapter
	Compliance PhD abstract Résumé du PhD Acknowledgments Co-authored contributions Table of contents List of figures List of tables Glossary
I. Introduction	1. Journey to the PhD 2. Research context and methodologies 3. Some theory on the commons
II. Breathing freely: creation-as-research	4. Commoning across disciplines 5. Commoning across territories 6. Commoning across commons
III. Four levers for solidarity-driven ecosystems	7. Bringing diverse people together for ludic events to overcome loneliness 8. Generating collective value to overcome material scarcity 9. Facilitating agreements across teams of teams to overcome power plays 10. Revisiting collective narratives to break free from self-servitude
IV. How thousands people could end misery within weeks	11. Festival ’taking care together’ 12. Solving collective crises within hours 13. Regaining joy in our daily lives: a reflection
V. Closing and references	14. Bridge to the future References Index of people Index of universities Index of organizations and projects

Core outcomes

On co-creation

• Breathing Games
  • Website
  • Videos of co-creation
  • Repository of source codes and designs
  • Synthesis: Balli et al. Open-source games for health, multiplayer and gamepads. Co-creating fun care with children with asthma, young adults with cystic fibrosis, elders with COPD. General meeting of the Global Alliance against chronic Respiratory Diseases 2020-2021. Zenodo 2021.
• Festival 'taking care together'
  • Website
  • Videos of co-creation
  • Synthesis: Balli. Preserving our health: a common heritage. Festival 'taking care together' 2022. Zenodo 2023.

On research

Book chapters

• Balli, Gingras. Cinq leviers pour révolutionner la recherche et l’enseignement supérieur. In Pérusse et al. L’université du XXI^e siècle : enjeux, défis et prospectives. Acfas 2020.
• Bousquet et al. Asthma in the digital world [CLOSED]. In Nadif. Asthma in the 21st Century. Elsevier 2023.
• Wu et al. Mobile applications and wearables for chronic respiratory disease monitoring. In Gomez et al. Precision in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine. Springer 2020.

Articles

• Balli. Game jams to co-create respiratory health games prototypes as Participatory Research methodology. Forum: Qualitative Social Research 2018; 19(3).
• Balli. Developing digital games to address airway clearance therapy in children with cystic fibrosis: Participatory design process. JMIR Serious Games 2018; 6(4).
• Balli F. Quand l'autorité reconnaît la sagesse du groupe :  principes pédagogiques pour s’accorder et mettre en communs nos connaissances face aux défis de société [IN REVIEW].
• Balli, Carpentier. Health and law-making: collectively re-creating narratives. In Haller, Soliev. Commons and Policy: Compilation of Inputs and Reflections – IASC Europe and CIS Colloquium Series 2022. Zenodo 2023.
• Balli, Lebel. Éditorial : les savoirs en partage. Acfas Magazine 2019.
• Balli, Roy. Collaborer et publier avec des logiciels libres. Acfas Magazine 2019.
• Chelabi et al. Validation of a portable game controller to assess peak expiratory flow against conventional spirometry in children: Cross-sectional study. JMIR Serious Games 2020; 9(1).
• Maheu-Cadotte et al. Effectiveness of serious games and impact of design elements on engagement and educational outcomes in healthcare professionals and students: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol. BMJ Open 2018; 8.
• Silva-Lavigne et al. Acceptability of serious games in pediatric asthma education and self-management: a pilot study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting 2022; 5(2).
• Valderrama et al. When thousands of citizens innovate: how policy-makers can contribute. Canadian Science Policy Center 2020.

Other communications

• Go to www.fabioballi.net/publications

Timeline of creation-as-research

Period	Focus	Detail	Research project
1 Sept 2015	Preparation	Meetings with supervisors to build my committee.
16 Sept 2015	Application	Application submitted. →	v1. Question: How does personal growth (emerging group regulation) and collaborative production (peer work released under commons licence) affect individuals in their optimal experience (flow) and autonomy, and organizations in their integrity and societal impact?
20 Nov 2015	Admission	Admitted in MA as previous graduate studies are not acknowledged as research with option to fast-track and have credits transfered after courses are done.
Jan 2016 to Aug 2017	Coursework MA and research	Global futures Social economy and impact (commons) Experiential learning Participatory action research Participatory design of games for health Mixed studies reviews (at McGill University)
13 April 2017	Fast-track	Request to shift from MA to PhD. →	v2. Refocus on Breathing Games. Question: How can co-created and freely adaptable games and devices for respiratory health help prevent, recognize, diagnose and treat chronic respiratory diseases at individual, local and international scales? How does the structure of the commons evolve over time? How does the experience of commoners evolve over time? How many individuals use the games/hardware and how (ludic experience, knowledge acquired, health practice)? What are the data gathered throughout the commons and how do they inform about health outcomes?
15 June 2017	Admission	Admitted to the PhD.
05 Sep 2017	Conversion	3 of 19 MA credits recognized for the PhD.
Sept 2017 to March 2018	Coursework PhD and research	Money, distributed data, and Commons Distributed governance of health commons University teaching: conception of a MOOC Participatory research and games for health Applied ethics Applied mixed methods in health research (at McGill University) Adv. mixed methods seminar health research (at McGill University) Global health delivery (based on Harvard University course)
5 Oct 2020	Comprehensive exam	Five questions on the growing presence of the commons in the dominant economic paradigm, problems related to the medical system, how health commons can address these issues; how to empower participants, and what methodologies help achieve positive outcomes. ▶ Chapters 3, 13
5 Nov 2020	Feedback	Committee input on the comprehensive exam.
April 2018 to Feb 2021	Research
28 Feb 2021	Research proposal	Summission of my research proposal. →	v3. Review of the realizations done, connecting the dots. Thesis structured in three parts: Co-creation of libre games and controller for children with asthma; International deployment of a health commons; Large-scale cooperation. ▶ Chapters 4, 5, 6
	Feedback	Committee input on the research proposal.
March 2021 to July 2021	Research		v4. Inclusion of context and research journey. ▶ Chapters 1, 2
15 July 2021	Pre-submission 1	Thesis submission to the committee for review.
3 Aug 2021	Feedback	Committee input on thesis.
Aug 2021 to Jan 2023	Research		v5. Integration of the research journey chapter throughout the thesis. New critical reflection part building on ongoing articles. Inclusion of taking care together festival. Closing added. ▶ Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14
8 Jan 2023	Pre-submission 2	Thesis submission to the committee for review.
27 Jan 2023	Feedback	Committee input on thesis. →	v6. Inclusion of captcha example, review of closing. ▶ Chapters 12, 15
11 Feb 2023	Submission	Initial thesis submission to Concordia.
Feb 2023 to June 2023	Copyediting		v7. Global review. Layout, illustrations, indexes and references were systematically corrected. Clarifications made. Chapter 9 completely restructured to clarify the model. Chapter 10 is no longer presented as an external publication. Synthesis in chapter 11 translated in English and updated. Six additional key figures added and other removed. Integration of the corrections requested in the defense.
29 June 2023	Defense
16 Nov 2023	Title awarded	Validation by Concordia Senate.
08 Jun 2024	Editable version	Publication under CC BY-SA licence in editable LaTeX format.

Draft structure of defense

Version 1

Presentation of 20-30 minutes followed by questions of the examination committee and audience. Hybrid or in presence. Details.

Parts	Time	Detail
I. Scope	2 min	Journey Inspiration: A future where all humans could live decently Experience of emergence
	2 min	Methodology lively vs sclerotic research creation-as-research definition / worldviews visual six iterations (see above)
	2 min	Theory commons and commoning definition as a topic as a process
II. Practice	4 min	Breathing Games iterations commoning across disciplines, territories, commons
III. Keys for solidarity	8 min	Barrier Mean Result Without Loneliness, availability Short events Visible impact of action Effort too high Material scarcity Libre philosophy Generative economy Value extracted Power plays Emergence Teams of teams agreement Projects multiplication Self-servitude Narratives New possibles No sovereignty
IV. Practice and model	4 min	Open Village iterations Value created Potential impact: Captcha Steps Application
V. Closing	2 min	Summary of learnings Accessibility of thesis

Version 2

Parts	Time	Detail
Essence		A method for people to solve human challenges by converging What if we collectively had the capacity to overcome any crisis in a matter of days? A method for teams of teams to: – listen to each other, – agree on priorities, – put in commons resources, – create few but essential and freely adaptable solutions.
Frame		wicked problems, complexity speed
Currently	2 min	Blue pill Red pill belief scarcity (material) abundance (immaterial) emotion greed (lobha) aversion (dosa) ignorance (moha) love (agape) compassion inner peace driver fear fight trust mutual aid knowledge model forbidden (self-)knowledge inhibition that prevent thought to unfold disciplinarity (context-limited solutions) introspection and interoception freethought, giftedness transdisciplinarity identity / sense making model belonging to collective frame of reference prevails (phantasmatic fusion with the group), no matter whether the frame is incongruent or generates violence congruence of own frame of reference prevails (singularity within the group), critical ability to question collective frames of reference social model I am better than (+/–), worse than (–/+), as bad as (–/–) the other competition (universalism, my narrative) control (top-down, systemic corruption) I am as good as the other (+/+) convergence (pluralism, cohabitation of narratives) autonomy (self-organisation, sovereign regulation) economic model own performance value extracted from the collective (negative externalities) collective performance value generated for / through the collective legal model state regulation market competition (private innovation, WBS, IP) "artificial intelligence" libre commoning (glocal customs to share resources and regulate conflicts) emergence health model allopathic medicine focus on physical body parts can be fixed with universal receipt prescription from technical expert holistic health and wellbeing multidimensional human (body, mind, consciousness) movement towards a dynamic equilibrium listening to own subjective experience with peer support
Alternative		quality of cooperation first value plural subjective experiences (cohabitation of knowledge systems)
Practice	4 min	Asthma: Breathing Games Health: Open Village
Method
III. Keys for solidarity	8 min	Barrier Mean Result Without Loneliness, availability Short events Visible impact of action Effort too high Material scarcity Libre philosophy Generative economy Value extracted Power plays Emergence Teams of teams agreement Projects multiplication Self-servitude Narratives New possibles No sovereignty
	2 min	Method Accessibility of thesis

Version 3

Approach to research

• origins: transdisciplinary, leading agile development
• socio-constructivist, traceable reasoning
• seven iterations, creation-as-research (vortex)
• autobiographical narrative

Question

• How can thousands of people put in commons their resources to achieve collective wealth? / What if we collectively had the capacity to overcome any crisis in a matter of days?

Practice of commoning

• Breathing Games (SNSF tables)
• Hackathons (table)
• Emerging Change

Concept of commoning

• definitions

Finding 1: Key elements for solidarity-driven ecosystems

• listen to each other
• agree on priorities
• put in commons resources
• create few but essential and freely adaptable solutions

Findings 2: Patterns that impoverish or empower

survival (the ill tree)				dynamic equilibrium (blooming forests)
..................................	..................................	..................................	..................................	..................................	..................................	..................................	..................................
➚	perceived / created scarcity – misery (recognition, material, spiritual) – exhaustion (self, resources) – dis-eases, corruption (physical, ecosystems)		➘	➚	perceived / created abundance – bliss – vitality – wellbeing (consciousness)		➘
having / power plays (+/–, –/+, –/–) fragmentation of (one's) Nature – forbidden (self-)knowledge (mental health taboo) – inhibition for thought to unfold – disciplinary techniques (context-limited) urge to control / exclude (fight, flight, freeze) – universalism / one truth – top-down (work-breakdown, AI) – dependence economic / ideological wars – competing states – competing corporations (IP) – value extracted from the collective (externalities) mastery of physical body – allopathic medicine, fitness, fashion, ... – body parts can be fixed with universal receipt – prescription from technical experts		fear greed, aversion, ignorance (lobha, dosa, moha) belonging to the collective narrative prevails, whether it is incongruent or generates violence (phantasmatic fusion with the group)		being / cooperation (+/+) relatedness to our Nature – introspection and interoception – freethought, giftedness – transdisciplinary creativity awareness of interdependence – cohabitation of plural realities (complexity) – emergence, convergence (regulation) – reliance, self-organization, sovereignty commoning / commonization – libre commons (bundles of rights) – value generated for / through the collective multidimensionnel consciousness – critical public health, antigym, pers. growth – sharing of subjective experiences – movement towards a dynamic equilibrium		trust love (agape), compassion, inner peace congruence of own narrative prevails; critical questioning of collective narratives (singularity within the group)

Findings 3: Method

• Method to tackle wicked problems within days

Barrier	Mean	Result	Without
Loneliness, availability	Short events	Visible impact of action	Effort too high
Material scarcity	Libre philosophy	Generative economy	Value extracted
Power plays	Emergence	Teams of teams agreement	Projects multiplication
Self-servitude	Narratives	New possibles	No sovereignty

Practice of commoning

• Makers (pres)
• Open Village (brochure)

Acknlowedgements

• Accessibility of thesis