We shared the tragic news that our beloved colleague, Sarah Waller, tragically passed away on Sunday 16th April in Bedfordshire. 

Sarah spent much of her career in academia, with roles covering the arts (a real passion of Sarah’s), engagement, and research. She joined us from the Open University in 2019, taking up a post as a Bid Manager, and was promoted last year to Senior Bid Manager. In her time working for us, Sarah’s expert knowledge of a wide range of funding bodies was used to brilliant effect to manage the successful delivery of a large number of impactful bids and proposals. She was motivated to make a difference in people’s lives and proactively supported her colleagues to maximise the potential impact of our work. Many of her bids and proposals have become projects that are changing how we all live for the better, through unlocking innovations in mobility and cities in the UK and around the world.    

Sarah’s superpower was her ability to engage with absolutely everyone. Bids can be challenging at times, as deadlines loom and people bring differing views on the best way forward. Sarah took every situation in her stride, demonstrating a gift for drawing people in and deftly keeping everyone on track.

Almost all of us at Connected Places Catapult have worked with Sarah, and we truly loved our interactions with her. She brought to every conversation humour, warmth and a keen interest in hearing about our lives. Time spent with Sarah was invariably uplifting. We miss her deeply.

We would like to share our deepest condolences with Sarah’s family and friends.

We have now opened an online Book of Remembrance so that we can capture messages and share stories about our wonderful colleague to celebrate her life, work and fun at the Catapult. The book will be printed and shared with Sarah’s family.