We can recruit spies to spy other society research and by the way, earn one level of any type of what the society already research ....or police catch you and you have to pay half the normal price for this knid of research.
example :
I spy SocietyX.
This society have "rubber Q2 already reached, steel Q15, wood Q54"
I have rubber Q3, steel Q8 and no "wood research center" so wood Q0
First spying, my spy is successfull. he found steel Q9 (my level+1)
2nd spying,he is successfull, but found Q2 rubber...so one spying for nothing :\ rubber stay Q2
3rd spying,he found wood Q1, but i have no wood research center...so i don't know how to use it, wood stay Q0
4th spying, steel Q10 = Q9 i spyed+1 (what a really good spy:))
5th spying: police catch him, and he had steel Q11 (q10+1) with him....so i have to pay steel Q11 research price /2
after this a lot of possibilty can be improved :
buy a police society and upgrade it, recruit more policeman (like employee in fact) which make spy job harder
spy destroyer (kamikaze spy) which make the other player loose one level ....
specialized spy : more "powerfull" spy, with higher % of success, or who research only what you can use (in my example everything but wood..)
This kind of "job" should of course use time....(yes...spy must go to the other society research center
.....example from germany to germany 1H travelling, 10H for research, 1H to be back)...and of course, higher the sppy level is, higher you have to pay for your spying...what do you think about it?