I like that idea of rebates for helping equip new faction members with basic ships and equipment.
Though only in the case of new players who dont have the funds to equip themselves.
The idea of a stipend? if you could get payments which could then be used to finance Large scale RP (like funds to pay shippers and traders to haul commodities for construction of a ship/base/etc),
I think that could be very handy. Of course, as you mentioned, adjuster per what the faction does. Could even be an RP tool in and of itself (for house militaries could call it operating budget)
I also like the idea of quicker responses to RP developments (ie technerf, rephacks and so on.)
Perhaps the potential to be able to get a new NPC base to be put in at a proper, admin approved location and achieving that through Construction RP. (proper, believable RP reasoning as well of course.)
- i raise this, because the idea of a shipyard in Baffin for TAZ is very appealing