Public Governance and Innovation in Gerontology: The Institutional Development of the Gerontec Innovation Center in the Brazilian Amazon

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.5157282602047

• Palavras-chave: Population aging. Public governance. Social innovation. Gerontology. Public policy.

• Keywords: Population aging. Public governance. Social innovation. Gerontology. Public policies.

• Abstract:

  Rapid population aging poses significant challenges for the formulation and implementation of public policies, especially in regions marked by socioeconomic inequalities and structural limitations, such as the Brazilian Amazon. This article analyzes the institutional development process of the Center for Innovation in Gerontology (Gerontec), affiliated with the Open University for the Elderly Foundation (FUnATI), from the perspective of public governance and innovation in active aging policies. From a methodological standpoint, the study adopts a qualitative approach, based on a systematic documentary analysis of institutional regulations, technical reports, action plans, administrative records, and official documents related to the creation and consolidation of Gerontec. The documentary material was analyzed using Bardin’s (2016) content analysis, enabling the identification of analytical categories related to institutional stability, collaborative governance, and intersectoral coordination. The results indicate that collaborative governance, institutional continuity, and intersectoral arrangements were central factors in the consolidation of Gerontec, even in the face of administrative obstacles and limitations in specialized human resources. It is concluded that the model has potential for replication, provided it is adapted to regional specificities and local administrative capacities, contributing to the debate on public innovation in peripheral contexts.