SUMMARY
Demand-side innovation policies, in the form of regulations, public procurement, subsidies for private demand, and other measures, are often viewed as valuable additions to more traditional supply-side policies. The demand-side innovation policies should enable to facilitate the emergence of vital and sustainable links between innovation outputs and various markets. However, without sufficient institutional framework and policy experiences such measures could also contribute to new market distortions or crowding-out effects, which do not facilitate sustainable growth in innovations. The charting of possible risks of such policies should help to outline the criteria for aiming at sustainable effects. The purpose of this contribution is to offer suggestions about preconditions and policy characteristics, which should help to avoid the misuse of demand-side measures and facilitate the sustainability of desired changes in society. It is predominantly conceptual contribution but draws also extensively on case evidence about the effects of relevant policies and their discontinuation