I somewhat disagree. It's true that many or maybe even most science requires large sums of money, but might there be some forms that we've yet to discover that

I somewhat disagree. It's true that many or maybe even most science requires large sums of money, but might there be some forms that we've yet to discover that could produce useful output with much more economic efficiency? For example: what about a new form of think tank, one where people other than the usual suspects (ie: "the" "best" "and" "brightest") like people from "the general public" (perhaps even a few of the "uneducated", and maybe even a few picks from the "freaks and weirdos" category to shake things up for a change) are hired to simply think of new ideas?