Brazil needs to educate its teaching and research staff to be competent, critical, creative and committed to the social development of the country. The increasing integration among key agencies for funding research and graduate study in Brazil associated with the definition of a national policy of science and technology make it necessary to reevaluate the criteria used for accompanying and evaluating graduate study. In addition to considering intellectual output, indicators should take into account the social impact of the knowledge produced by graduate programs. An active involvement of knowledge users with those responsible for its production in the elaboration of integrated national plans for graduate education and in national conferences dealing with science, technology and innovation can contribute to improving the social direction taken by scientific actions that are appropriate for the Brazilian reality.