If you haven't already, you should read Michael Nielsen's posts on open science. His book "Reinventing Discovery" has been discussed on LW before. Also, the polymath wiki has a lot of different posts on improving science.

There are lots of other resources on improving science that I've come across (and am still synthesizing). I think the links above are the best writings I've found on the subject.

Another interesting link.

I got my PhD and looked at my options. I love differential geometry, general relativity, and particle physics. But the only options available then for a postdoc in those combined areas were in string theory, and I thought string theory was overly speculative. There are many really impressive aspects of strings — anomaly cancelation in particular — but there are other things that just seem wild and physically unsubstantiated. I had gotten lucky by investing my graduate stipend in a little company many thought was going out of business (AAPL), so I decided to go to Maui, learn to windsurf, and work on physics on my own

Science Hostels:

The physical requirements for conducting scholarly research have changed dramatically with the rise of the internet. It is now viable for researchers with laptop computers to work autonomously – with access to current articles and communication channels on par with the resources available at large universities. These new circumstances motivate the creation of a new kind of research enterprise: a Science Hostel. By providing places to live and work with other researchers, in beautiful locations, a Science Hostel could increase creative productivity and overall quality of life for scholars in the internet age.[45]

EDIT: Here's a link to another related LW post.