Global Health Promotion 1757-9759; Vol 23 Supp. 1: 8–17; 641566 Copyright © The Author(s) 2016, Reprints and permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1757975916641566 http://ghp.sagepub.com Introduction The ‘Healthy Cities’ (HC) project, proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1986, hopes to achieve “Health for All” by establishing healthy public policies and promoting health promotion programs in local areas (1). Over 5000 cities and communities have implemented HC projects worldwide, since the inception of HCs (2). Taiwan launched its HC program in 2002, which was 16 years after the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched its HC project. Unlike most countries, which rely on nonprofit organizations that are non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Taiwan’s HC program resembles those in Europe, which are enacted directly by the government, but requesting the cooperation of academic experts and NGOs. 641566PED 0 0 10.1177/1757975916641566S. C. Hu and H. KuoSupplement: Scholarly Paper [Suggested short title: Developing Healthy Cities in Taiwan.] research-article 2016 1. Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. 2. Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. 3. School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan. Correspondence to: Hsien-Wen Kuo, Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Li-Nong Street, Taipei, 112, Taiwan. Email: hwkuo@ym.edu.tw (This manuscript was submitted on 5 May 2015. Following blind peer review, it was accepted for publication on 7 March 2016) The development and achievement of a healthy cities network in Taiwan: sharing leadership and partnership building Susan C. Hu 1 and Hsien-Wen Kuo 2,3 Abstract: The World Health Organization (WHO) Healthy Cities (HC) projects are the best known of the settings-based approaches to health promotion. They engage local governments in health development through a process of political commitment, institutional change, capacity-building, partnership-based planning and innovative projects. Many cities have promoted HC projects in Taiwan since 2002. In 2008, the Taiwan Alliance for Healthy Cities (TAHC) was launched to assist local governments in effectively establishing, operating and promoting HC projects. In this article, we share our experiences of establishing a platform and network to promote the HC program in Taiwan. Based on individual city profiles and governance in Taiwan, the TAHC developed a well-organized framework and model to encourage strong leadership in local governments and to promote participation and engagement in their communities. In the last 6 years, leaders from Taiwan’s local governments in HC networks have integrated the HC concepts into their governance models, actively engaging and combining various resources with practical expertise and private sectors. The network of health in Taiwan allows each city to develop its unique perspective on the HC projects. Using this method, not only local government meets its needs, but also increases governance efficiency and effectiveness, resulting in the promotion of its citizens’ overall sustainable urban health development. This HC network in Taiwan has partnerships with government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), with academic support and citizen involvement, a dynamic data collection system and demonstrated leadership in the sharing of information in the Asian region. (Global Health Promotion, 2016; 23 Supp. 1: 8–17). Keywords: awards, government, health promotion, healthy cities, leadership, network, organizations, partnerships, public health, settings, Taiwan, Taiwan Alliance for Healthy Cities, World Health Organization Original Article