The potential of innovation contests in articulating demand for system-level transformation: The case of the Helsinki Energy Challenge

• Challenge-oriented innovation policy necessitates effective demand articulation. • Policymakers must specify demand for local system-level sustainability transitions. • Innovation contests can express public demand and local boundary conditions. • Articulation activities steer contestants’ innovation processes. • Innovation contests have characteristics with the potential to support transformative missions. As local authorities and providers of services and infrastructures, cities can advance sustainability transformations through instruments like public procurement. However, a disconnect exists between broad (supra)national sustainability challenges and public procurers’ local needs. We examine innovation contests as a tool for articulating societal challenges as local demands for innovation. We study Helsinki Energy Challenge, where the city of Helsinki, Finland, sought solutions for decarbonizing its heating system, offering a million-euro reward. We explore how innovation contest-related activities contribute to articulating demand for system innovation locally and their influence on participants’ problem-solving approaches. The case demonstrates how innovation contests could localise demand for sustainable solutions and direct innovation processes toward a societal challenge, while supporting solutions’ broader scalability. We identify six demand articulation activities: expressing strategic intent, scoping, boundary-setting, user-producer interaction, evaluation, and embedding. We enhance understanding of demand articulation processes for system innovation and the potential of innovation contests for transformative innovation missions.