Wouldn't be any need for research I don't think. The normal game you research so you can get better tech to put on your ships. In this case you progress to better tech and better ships by earning resources other ways and then buying the tech you want. I'll probably make it high tech just to make things easier on my self as game host, but you won't have access to the high tech stuff right off the bat. Even if you had the tech you couldn't build or afford it.
You'd get paid by the Imperium when you completed the task for which you agreed to perform. Specifics would depend on the job, but it would be either a gift or a trade of some kind.
I'm also thinking some sort of general trade goods could be fudged which could be bought and sold anywhere, but at different prices in different places. Think of pretty much any of your typical space trader games. I'd be doing that part manually for the most part, but with some sort of spreadsheet I think I can make it fairly painless on my end.
A lot of out of game email communication would happen during turns with the actual swaps going on through the in-game siplomacy screens. Actually I could keep a lot of the money changing out of game entirely, some sort of galactic bank account. You'd just withdraw enough each turn to keep your in game operating expenses where you need them.
Admitadly that's the least developed part of the idea at this point.
Geoschmo