[Raapys]

Call it 'leaders', 'administrators', heroes is so Lord of the Ring'ish. People for hire that gives benefits to planets, systems or fleets in a specific area(e.g. science), while often providing disadvantages in other areas(e.g. negative effects on moral, resources, etc.).

Personally, I think a sort of 'market' system, like in Imp Galactica 2, would be neat as well, where you can buy ships/vehicles that other empires have put for sale for a specific amount.