Yanuar is both an academic and policymaker. He is the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Executive Office of the President, Indonesia, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, UK.

Awarded Outstanding Academic in Manchester Business School in 2009 and Hallsworth Fellowship in Political Economy of Innovations and Social Change in 2010-2011, his research and interest cover innovation and social change, sustainability, civil society and third sector, knowledge dynamics, and informatics innovations for development. Using foresight, he developed approaches (among others, evolutionary scenarios) to help identify trends and key factors for development planning.

Joining the Indonesian Government since 2012, Yanuar holds some important positions: negotiator for the UN for the Post-2015 Development Agenda (now SDGs), national focal point for Open Government Partnership (OGP) and lead of Open Government Indonesia. He also monitors the attainment of National Determined Contribution in tackling climate change. He is a committee member of the Indonesia’s Education Trust Fund LPDP, and a council member of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund of OGP-World Bank.