The Unified Reporting System (URS) program and database are based on the Accountability, Information, and Comnmunication System (AICS) of Washington State University.  AICS was designed and developed by Kathleen Duncan, WSU College of Agriculture and Home Economics, Computer Resource Unit. It was originally developed in 1999, and continues to be improved every year.
The agricultural colleges of several other universities have adopted the AICS for their own use, including Purdue, University of Missouri, Pennsylvania State University, and Kansas State University.

The AICS reporting application was first brought to the attention of the OSUE adminstration by Dave Williamson following a presentation by Kathleen Duncan. The College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) of The Ohio State University purchased the AICS program in 2000, and the modified AICS program became the first version of the URS that was launched in January 2001. Besides the required customization for CFAES and OSU, most of the modifications in Version One were designed to increase the detailed information collected on Extension programs.