INR is descended from the Research and Analysis Branch (R&A) of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which was established during World War II to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Axis powers. The R&A was widely recognized as the most valuable component of the OSS, and upon the latter's dissolution in 1945, its personnel were transferred to the State Department, forming the Office of Intelligence Research. INR was established in its current form in 1957, becoming the first civilian intelligence agency in the U.S.