Youth initiative budgeting as a tool for sustainable rural development

Introduction . The article is a continuation of the research on youth initiative budgeting (II B), and focuses on its potential as a tool for sustainable rural development. The relevance of the work is determined by the strategic objectives of overcoming spatial inequality, increasing financial accessibility and forming a personnel reserve for rural areas. Purpose setting . The purpose of the study is to analyze the role of the IIB in overcoming socio-economic barriers in rural areas and to develop mechanisms to enhance its impact. The tasks included identifying key issues of civic engagement in rural areas (economic, institutional, sociocultural constraints, and personnel imbalance) and finding ways to address them through the integration of educational resources and proactive budgeting tools. Methodology and methods of the study . The research is based on the synthesis of a competence-based approach, the principle of human-centricity and orientation towards the formation of civic identity. The empirical base is based on the analysis of official data from the Ministry of Finance of Russia, NIFI and Rosstat. Results . The key problems hindering the development of the IIB in rural areas, including structural personnel imbalance and infrastructural constraints, have been identified and systematized. As a system solution, a model for the integration of educational resources is proposed, including the involvement of students as curators of SHKIB projects and the creation of continuous educational tracks. The effectiveness of the collaboration of StIB agricultural universities and SHKIB in rural areas for the formation of a vertical of civic participation is substantiated. Three scenarios of the IIB development (inertial, innovative, and intensive) are analyzed and recommendations are given for regional practice, in particular for the Novosibirsk region. Conclusion . It is concluded that the IIB is an effective mechanism for enhancing youth participation and sustainable rural development. StIB practice in agricultural universities prepares a talent pool capable of acting as ambassadors of change in rural areas. The integration of the IIB into the educational process and youth policy makes it possible to transform it from a financial mechanism into a comprehensive educational and educational technology.