«Soft power» of regional development: synergy of participatory budgeting and small entrepreneurship in the Siberian Federal District (2016–2025)

The article examines the synergistic potential of the joint development of participatory budgeting (PB) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as factors of “soft power” in the Siberian Federal District (SFD), based on data from the annual monitoring by the Financial Research Institute (FNI) of the Russian Ministry of Finance, the Unified Register of SME Entities, and an analysis of regional practices for 2016–2025. It has been revealed that during the study period, a qualitative transformation of the typology of participatory projects occurred: from the dominance of infrastructure projects (roads, water supply, public space improvement) to an expanded structure that includes social (education, culture, youth spaces), environmental, and event-based initiatives. It is substantiated that regional banks act as an institutional support for SMEs — as lenders and operators of participatory projects — and that the Chinese market is becoming an additional driver of demand for products of small businesses in the agro-industrial sector. Based on a comparative analysis, three groups of SFD regions have been identified according to the degree of “soft power” development: “Entrepreneurial” regions (Novosibirsk Oblast, Omsk Oblast, Altai Krai); “Resource-based” regions (Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, Kemerovo Oblast); “Challenged” regions (Republic of Tyva, Republic of Altai, Republic of Khakassia). It is shown that in the “entrepreneurial” regions, the share of local contractors in participatory projects reaches 75–85 %, whereas in the “resource-based” regions it does not exceed 40–50 %. The research findings can be used by public authorities to improve regional PB programmers and SME support measures.

1. Boldurets Yu. A. Critical success factors for regional development: methodological approaches to assessment, Economica I upravlenie: problemy I resheniya, 2025, No. 11, Vol. 14, pp. 134–141. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.36871/ek.up.p.r.2025.11.14.014

2. Korchagina I. V. The Potential of Small and MediumSized Enterprises in Containing Spatial Inequality Across Regions of the Siberian Federal District, Vestnik Omskogo universitetay. Serya “Economica”, 2025, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 98–106. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.24147/18123988.2025.23(1).98-106.

3. Nye J. S. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs, 2004. 208 p.

4. Lamasheva Yu. A. The role of internal internationalization in developing of regional “soft power”, Izvestiya vostochnogo instituta, 2024, No. 1, pp. 90-99. (In Russ.). DOI: 10/24866/2542-1611/2024-1/90-99

5. Babina Yu. V. Regional models of initiative budgeting: transformation of project typology in the Siberian federal district (2016–2025), Sibirskaya financovaya shkola, 2026, No. 1 (161), pp. 119-129. (In Russ.). DOI: 10/34020/1993-4386-2026-1-119-129

6. Sumenkova L. A. The financial sector of Siberia: growth and efficiency in modern market conditions, Mezhdunarodny nauchno issledovatelsky zhurnal, 2025. No. 11 (161). (In Russ.). DOI: 10.60797/IRJ.2025.161.69

7. Kuzmin A. A. Economic cooperation between the subjects of the Siberian Federal District and China: current trends and prospects, Vestnik Sibirskogo instituta biznesa i informacionnyh tekhnologij, 2026, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 65-71. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.24412/2225-8264-2026-11068

8. Report on best practices for developing initiative budgeting in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipal formations, Moscow: Minfin Rossii, NIFI, 2025, 124 p. (In Russ.).

9. Fadeikina N. V. Initiative budgeting as a tool of the public finance system, Sibirskaya finansovaya shkola, 2020. No. 1 (137), pp. 52-57. (In Russ.).

10. Fadeikina N. V., Morozova O. V., Sinkina A. A. et al. Razvitie iniciativnogo byudzhetirovaniya kak instrumenta obshchestvennyh finansov: monografiya pod nauch. red. N. V. Fadejkinoj [Development of Initiative Budgeting as a Public Finance Tool: monografiya, ed. by N. V. Fadeikina], Novosibirsk: Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management (NGUEU), 2021, 420 p. (In Russ.).

11. Vagin V. V., Petrova I. V. Citizen Participation in State Programs of the Russian Federation, Municipal'noe imushchestvo: ekonomika, pravo, upravlenie, 2023, No. 1, pp. 23-26. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.18572/2072-4314-2023-1-23-26

12. Vagin V. V. Financing and Co-Financing of Initiative Projects: Development Prospects, Zhurnal Byudzhet, 2024, No. 12 (264), pp. 40-42. (In Russ.).

13. Sorokina A. I. Analysis of Performance Indicators of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Siberian Federal District, Sbornik nauchnyh trudov Angarskogo gosudarstvennogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta [Collection of Scientific Papers of Angarsk State Technical University], 2025, No. 1, pp. 398-403. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.36629/2686-7788-2025-1-393-397

14. Inchikova A. S., Yalaeva D. D. Problems of Regional Banks in the Credit System of the Russian Federation and Measures to Promote Their Development, Nauchnye zapiski molodyh issledovatelej., 2025, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 24-32. (In Russ.).

15. Nekhoroshkov V. P., Aroshidze A. A. Foreign Trade Relations Between China and Siberian Regions Through the Lens of Complementarity, Specialization, and Sustainable Development, Rossijsko-kitajskie issledovaniya, 2023, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 191-199. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.17150/2587-7445.2023.7(2).191199

16. Babina Yu. V. Student Initiative Budgeting in the Context of Improving Financial Accessibility, Professional'noe obrazovanie v sovremennom mire, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 633-646. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.20913/2618-7515-2024-4-9

17. Babina Yu. V. Youth Initiative Budgeting as a Tool for Sustainable Development of Rural Areas, Professional'noe obrazovanie v sovremennom mire, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 649-660. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.20913/2224-1841-2025-4-6