On a positive note individual intel projects can be modded into SE:V with a bit of work. The only downside I see right now is that you wouldn't be able to run more than 1 type of project per turn against an empire and it might go for multiple instances of the same project in a turn as well.
In SEIV, I'd use the crew insurrection intel project directed against specific A.I. colony ships that wandered into my space to capture their population and colonization tech.
But I like the new SEV way too. That trick in SEIV was kind of gamey.