An idea which would generate random people that you could coax or hire to live on your planet and boost your stats.
Hire a diplomat to help you stop a war.
Hire a famous sports figure to improve entertainment thus happiness.
Hire a famous general to give you the ground war edge.
Hire a famous scientist to help boost your research.
People might come with baggage that could effect your alignment. Hire a famous or infamous assasin to take other famous people out being used by other races.

These would be playable like cards used for a specific instance.
Badly need a tech use that scientist card etc.
Entertainment -hire that famous rock star-get a boost in approval for a year.

Would be on the tech tree as a cultural tech.

Bidding wars at the UP council for cards much like trading.

Espionage would reveal other races famous people.
Espionage would add a bonus to chance of assasins success,although assasination would be hard to do.
Security slider for planet would counter espionage and assasins.