Science & Industry

Alliances providing research services are valuable. I used One Stop Research until the G00Ns griefed them out of existence.

If you've ever done research, you would understand the point. Sure you could risk your BPO's going to a .01 system where there MIGHT be some slots available for research that are LESS than a month away. Sure you could install your BPO's for Research at a High Sec Lab and pay the outrageous fees plus wait for 2 to 3 months JUST for your research to begin (which might take another 2 to 3 months to get your desired ME) OR instead of all that, you join a research alliance. Years ago I was part of ZZZ, they pioneered this kind of stuff.
You pay the alliance dues, and they give you access to research labs they have anchored in High Sec moons. Usually the Install fees were MUCH higher, but the daily fee is MUCH less, so it works out for long research projects to cost less than your average Government Run Lab. More importantly however is that they usually had more research slots available than are actually in use, so if you want to start a research project right away on a new BPO that just came out (like the new Mobile Tractor Unit), you're ready to go!
The way that it works is that you place your BPO in one of your own Corporate Hangars in a nearby Station, right click on it and select let's just say "Material Research". When the window pops up, you click on Select "Pick Installation" and choose the Research Facility being operated by the Alliance in that Solar System. Because the BPO never actually leaves your own Corporate Hangar, someone outside your corp can't actually steal it, so if you get kicked out of the Alliance, the only thing that happens is that your BPO drops back into your Corporate Hangar, with the research cycle incomplete.