diff --git a/config/400-flow-controller-config.yaml b/config/400-flow-controller-config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a3b3e56e0e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/400-flow-controller-config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Copyright 2018 The Knative Authors
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: flow-controller-config
+  namespace: knative-eventing
+data:
+  # Configuration for the flow controller
+  default-cluster-bus: stub
diff --git a/pkg/controller/flow/provider.go b/pkg/controller/flow/provider.go
index 23bf71edce6..a09e931e4a5 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/flow/provider.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/flow/provider.go
@@ -30,7 +30,11 @@ import (
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/source"
 )
 
-const controllerAgentName = "flow-controller"
+const (
+	// controllerAgentName is the string used by this controller to identify
+	// itself when creating events.
+	controllerAgentName = "flow-controller"
+)
 
 type reconciler struct {
 	client     client.Client
diff --git a/pkg/controller/flow/reconcile.go b/pkg/controller/flow/reconcile.go
index d24dd2027b9..34547f63db3 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/flow/reconcile.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/flow/reconcile.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	feedsv1alpha1 "github.com/knative/eventing/pkg/apis/feeds/v1alpha1"
 	v1alpha1 "github.com/knative/eventing/pkg/apis/flows/v1alpha1"
 	"github.com/knative/eventing/pkg/controller/flow/resources"
+	"github.com/knative/eventing/pkg/system"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/equality"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
@@ -223,7 +224,12 @@ func (r *reconciler) reconcileChannel(flow *v1alpha1.Flow) (*channelsv1alpha1.Ch
 }
 
 func (r *reconciler) createChannel(flow *v1alpha1.Flow) (*channelsv1alpha1.Channel, error) {
-	channel := resources.MakeChannel(defaultBusName, flow)
+	clusterBusName, err := r.getDefaultClusterBusName()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	channel := resources.MakeChannel(clusterBusName, flow)
 	if err := r.client.Create(context.TODO(), channel); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -289,3 +295,50 @@ func (r *reconciler) createFeed(channelDNS string, flow *v1alpha1.Flow) (*feedsv
 	}
 	return feed, nil
 }
+
+func (r *reconciler) NewControllerRef(flow *v1alpha1.Flow) *metav1.OwnerReference {
+	blockOwnerDeletion := false
+	isController := true
+	revRef := metav1.NewControllerRef(flow, flowControllerKind)
+	revRef.BlockOwnerDeletion = &blockOwnerDeletion
+	revRef.Controller = &isController
+	return revRef
+}
+
+const (
+	// controllerConfigMapName is the name of the configmap in the eventing
+	// namespace that holds the configuration for this controller.
+	controllerConfigMapName = "flow-controller-config"
+
+	// defaultClusterBusConfigMapKey is the name of the key in this controller's
+	// ConfigMap that contains the name of the default cluster bus for the flow
+	// controller to use.
+	defaultClusterBusConfigMapKey = "default-cluster-bus"
+
+	// fallbackClusterBusName is the name of the cluster bus that will be used
+	// for flows if the controller's configmap does not exist or does not
+	// contain the 'default-cluster-bus' key.
+	fallbackClusterBusName = "stub"
+)
+
+// getDefaultClusterBusName returns the value of the 'default-cluster-bus' key in
+// the knative-system/flow-controller-config configmap or an error. If the
+// 'default-cluster-bus' key is not set, it returns the default value "stub".
+func (r *reconciler) getDefaultClusterBusName() (string, error) {
+	configMapKey := client.ObjectKey{
+		Namespace: system.Namespace,
+		Name:      controllerConfigMapName,
+	}
+
+	configMap := &corev1.ConfigMap{}
+	if err := r.client.Get(context.TODO(), configMapKey, configMap); err != nil {
+		// return the fallback value if there's an error loading the configmap
+		return fallbackClusterBusName, nil
+	}
+
+	if value, ok := configMap.Data[defaultClusterBusConfigMapKey]; ok {
+		return value, nil
+	}
+
+	return fallbackClusterBusName, nil // return the fallback value
+}
diff --git a/pkg/controller/flow/reconcile_test.go b/pkg/controller/flow/reconcile_test.go
index e500fb0fc32..dffbc6dff56 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/flow/reconcile_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/flow/reconcile_test.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import (
 	feedsv1alpha1 "github.com/knative/eventing/pkg/apis/feeds/v1alpha1"
 	flowsv1alpha1 "github.com/knative/eventing/pkg/apis/flows/v1alpha1"
 	controllertesting "github.com/knative/eventing/pkg/controller/testing"
+	"github.com/knative/eventing/pkg/system"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/reconcile"
@@ -59,6 +60,24 @@ func init() {
 var testCases = []controllertesting.TestCase{
 	{
 		Name: "new flow: adds status, action target resolved",
+		InitialState: []runtime.Object{
+			getNewFlow(),
+			getFlowControllerConfigMap(),
+		},
+		ReconcileKey: "test/test-flow",
+		WantResult:   reconcile.Result{},
+		WantPresent: []runtime.Object{
+			getActionTargetResolvedFlow(),
+			func() *channelsv1alpha1.Channel {
+				c := getNewChannel()
+				c.Spec.ClusterBus = "special-bus"
+				return c
+			}(),
+			getNewSubscription(),
+		},
+	},
+	{
+		Name: "new flow: adds status, action target resolved, no flow controller config map, use default 'stub' bus",
 		InitialState: []runtime.Object{
 			getNewFlow(),
 		},
@@ -169,6 +188,15 @@ func getNewFeed() *feedsv1alpha1.Feed {
 	}
 }
 
+func getFlowControllerConfigMap() *corev1.ConfigMap {
+	return &corev1.ConfigMap{
+		ObjectMeta: om(system.Namespace, controllerConfigMapName),
+		Data: map[string]string{
+			defaultClusterBusConfigMapKey: "special-bus",
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 func flowType() metav1.TypeMeta {
 	return metav1.TypeMeta{
 		APIVersion: flowsv1alpha1.SchemeGroupVersion.String(),
@@ -197,6 +225,13 @@ func subscriptionType() metav1.TypeMeta {
 	}
 }
 
+func configMapType() metav1.TypeMeta {
+	return metav1.TypeMeta{
+		APIVersion: corev1.SchemeGroupVersion.String(),
+		Kind:       "ConfigMap",
+	}
+}
+
 func om(namespace, name string) metav1.ObjectMeta {
 	return metav1.ObjectMeta{
 		Namespace: namespace,