Abstract: The “Demand-Side Innovation Policy” attracted remarkable attention from China’s policy and academic communities, as soon as it was launched by OECD. By getting the demand-side innovation policy (DSIP) as well as its typical policy instrument, public procurement for innovation (PPI) carefully reviewed, it is found that, it is the diverse understandings to, as well as the different capabilities in handling and reacting the demand, determine the heterogeneous cognitions and practices to this specific policy. The MVQAP method basing on the network data is employed to examine the tension between the cognitions and practices, and furthermore their “rationalities” among “developed” countries, giving the constrain of limited samples. On top of the quantitative part, advocacy works from one of the most essential policy entrepreneurs Dr. Jakob Edler were also modestly investigated. The “catholicon” metaphor to the DSIP promoted by the European Union countries rely heavily on their enormous legitimacy demand in exploring alternative ways beyond the U.S technology driven linear innovation model. China’s priority to learn as a result, it to leave the market itself to define the real demand, and to regain the confidence in discovering and resolving the real problems in stimulating and diffusing innovation, where there must be more than one version of the DSIP.