Benchmarking na gestão de programas universitários de extensão para pessoas idosas: estudo sobre práticas sustentáveis em UNATIs do Paraná

Abstract

Population aging is a growing reality in Brazil, requiring effective responses from public institutions, particularly in the field of education. Within this context, Universities Open to Older Adults (UNATIs) play a strategic role by promoting extension activities focused on inclusion, lifelong learning, and healthy aging. In the state of Paraná, this initiative has gained prominence, with consolidated experiences in several public universities, such as UNATI Foz, linked to UNIOESTE, which since 2008 has worked to articulate teaching, research, and extension. However, despite these advances, studies that systematize the management models adopted by these programs remain scarce. This research sought to fill this gap by analyzing management practices in UNATIs in Paraná through benchmarking, focusing on four dimensions: organizational structure, financial sustainability, integration with teaching and research, and evaluation mechanisms. The adopted approach is qualitative and descriptive in nature, based on data triangulation among semi-structured interviews with coordinators, participant observation, and document analysis.The results indicate that there is no single management model; rather, there are institutional arrangements adapted to the reality of each institution, in which the continuity of actions is strengthened by the permanent formalization of structures. The study culminated in the systematization of guidelines for good practices, recommending: institutionalization through senior-level resolutions and fixed organizational structures; shared and interdisciplinary management; territorial engagement and intersectoral partnerships; full integration into academic life; formalization of student representation; and the updating of nomenclature and legal alignment.The study concludes by affirming university extension as an indispensable movement for social transformation, consolidating it as a sustained public policy for citizenship and longevity.