Factions should be allowed to request special support by the admins for events, like special ships only needed for the duration of an event, or reserved player slots - basically things that would spoil a long prepared event when not available.
Factions should be obliged to send one player representative to a special forum where only according representatives of other factions would be discussing RP matters - Story of Sirius, NPC Faction Histories, changes in the future. This would not only be an opportunity to participate in the RP development of Disco, but it would also impose a kind of soft quality control on the factions. Opinions of other factions can help to improve the own faction RP. Also, this way the factions could really take care of NPC factions' purposes, intra- and inter-balances, general RP and similar topics. A faction based board could even elaborate standards and minumum requirements valid for every faction (I'm not talking about player numbers or affliation charts). Such things should belong to the duties of each official faction, and it should be reviewed regularly.
Bearing the responsibility for the server RP and having such duties the rights of official factions should remain exclusive, at all times.
Regarding the calls for better equipment, more wealth or similar bonuses are not reasonable from my point of view, because factions are already strongly benefiting from synergetic effects provided to the members of organized groups. Making factions more attractive means to determine their responsiblities very clearly and to grant accordant rights, in order to make them able to attend their duties. Properly established this can imply a kind and also an amount of reward actually nobody can give but those who are rewarding themselves by a deeper involvement into the creation development of this imaginary universe, which means the influencing of the imaginations of many players.
Summary:
What are factions good for?
What are their purposes, their duties?
Derived from this, which rights do they need to attend their duties?
What additional benefits or disadvantes are needed to balance their duties with their rights?
Forget equipment, credits, ships, commodities and IDs.
