Together with Governor Gina Raimondo, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Eric Rosengren announced Tuesday the 13 eligible cities and towns for the Working Cities Challenge, Warwick being one of them.

The challenge, which puts cities and towns in competition for grant funding, started in Massachusetts in 2014. The initiative, open to municipalities with low median family income or high poverty rates, hopes to “change the story” of cities and towns.

Rosengren said participating areas present a “systemic issue” they would like to see changed in their communities regarding specific populations, the partnerships that would be collaborating on a solution and their eventual goals.

“The idea is to get communities to come together behind one vision,” Rosengren said. “We identify not just areas with the greatest need but the greatest chance of changing their story, exhibiting the best collaborations and commitment to get the job done.”

The Working Cities Challenge wants to foster cross-sector collaborations, engaging entire communities to solve a singular problem.

Still in the early stages of the competition, the 13 eligible cities – Warwick, Cranston, Johnston, Burrillville, Central Falls, East Providence, Newport, North Providence, Pawtucket, Providence, West Warwick, Westerly and Woonsocket – can now submit applications for design grants, which will be between $10,000 and $20,000, before the final contestants are chosen.

Rosengren said municipalities are free to “figure out what’s in their own best interest” without stipulations from the Boston Fed. “Our job is to help push those ideas forward for communities to achieve their goals.”

Applications will be due early summer with an official date to be announced.

Rosengren explained that it takes time and effort for a community to establish partnership and fully develop a singular idea acceptable for the final Working Cities Challenge.

“This is just enough money so that these cities and towns can work on bringing people together, to give them the resources to develop their vision for these restorative and transformative projects,” he said.

Design grant winners will then have several months to further work on their proposals, attending different workshops run by The Boston Fed, to finally present to an “unbiased, independent” jury. The final winners are expected to be announced in early spring of 2017, each winner receiving an “implementation grant” between $300,000 and $500,000 to put their plan into action disbursed over three years.

In Massachusetts, the winning cities focused on increasing opportunities for Latino communities both in the business and education sector, decreasing crime with greater access to substance abuse and mental health programs or re-imagining specific neighborhoods within the community.

Rhode Island is the first state the Working Cities Challenge has expanded to, but The Boston Fed is also looking to begin in Connecticut. Already, the winning cities in Massachusetts – Lawrence, Chelsea, Fitchburg and Holyoke – have seen “tangible progress” according to Prabal Chakrabarti, senior vice president and community affairs officer for The Boston Fed.

“They are bringing in richer collaborations and establishing stronger partnerships,” he said. “We are seeing businesses and jobs created, peoples lives improving.”

These same cities, having been identified by The Boston Fed, have also been able to attract additional funding for their initiatives outside of the Working Cities Challenge grants. Leveraging the Working Cities grants the four winning cities have been able to raise more than $3 million in additional funding.

Even for those cities that don’t win in the final round, or even those who do not receive a design grant, Chakrabarti explained the majority of eligible cities benefit in some way from the competition.

“They have already started the process of coming together; they’ve established these cross sector teams and begun thinking long term,” Chakrabarti said. “Cities often use that momentum and continue with these goals reaching out for other funding sources.”

Governor Raimondo said she hopes Rhode Island winners surpass the success seen in Massachusetts with the Working Cities Challenge. She believes the state is “poised” for this initiative, working off the momentum and excitement from a state level.

“Lets make these cities vibrant once again so they can thrive in this new economy” she said. “Rhode Island is only strong if all of its cities are strong. Let’s make Rhode island greater than it already is.”

Despite running the competition, The Boston Fed, providing leadership, research and date, the organization does not actually fund the grants. Grant funding is roughly comprised of a third from the state, national foundations and then business leaders.

Partners include the Rhode Island Foundation, Delta Dental, Bank of America, AT&T, Kresge Foundation and more.

Rosengren said the entirety of the Working Cities Challenge mirrors the same partnership and collaborations they want to see in eligible municipalities’ applications.

Rosengren said, “We want to identify areas with great possibilities. Each area comes with different plans and different advantages. We will chose those projects with the best chance of change, of thriving moving forward.”